Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

Thai Beverage (TBEV.SI), through a local unit, emerged as the only bidder keen to buy all shares on offer of Vietnam’s top brewer Sabeco SAB.HM worth nearly $5 billion, as Vietnam conducts an auction on Monday in its biggest privatisation process.

Vietnam will kick off the sale of 54 percent of Sabeco SAB.HM, the country’s biggest brewer and the maker of Bia Saigon and 333 beers, next month, in an ambitious deal the government hopes will raise at least $5 billion.

Vietnam has launched a new campaign to combat drunk driving, asking restaurants, bars and nightclubs to take their intoxicated patrons home to reduce traffic accidents, a leading cause of death in the country.

As Vietnam continues to levy a special 25-50 percent tax on beer and alcohol, the Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association (VBA) recently proposed that the state administration impose a similar 10 percent tax on carbonated beverages.

Few visitors leave Hanoi without sluicing copious volumes of watery bia hoi while the distinctive roaring tiger logo of Danang brand La Rue is as ubiquitous an adornment on backpacker T-shirts as the words same-same or a faded photograph of Bob Marley tugging a spliff.

Vietnam's thirst for beer is hard to quench, and a new production line with a capacity for 50,000 bottles an hour is the latest industry attempt to target one of the region's key markets.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Caladoc and Syrah (or Shiraz) are among the better known varieties of grapes for making red wine, yet not one of them was grown in Vietnam until French viticulturist Daniel Carsol started planting them in the central highlands early in 2007.