Following success in the domestic market, many Vietnamese businesspeople are seeking profits from outward investment projects.
VinFast plans to penetrate the US market in 2021
Masan Group, the business of billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang, last year wrapped up a deal to take over H.C Starck Tungsten as part of its plan to become a leading high-tech industrial material manufacturer.
The deal will help stabilize cash flow through business cycles and help expand market size by 3.5 times, from $1.3 billion to $4.6 billion, as well as turn Masan Resources into the leading midstream tungsten product manufacturer.
Analysts say that Vietnamese businesses now tend to ‘play big’, trying to reach out to the world. To implement their plans, they take over existing production facilities in targeted foreign markets and use the facilities as a springboard to enter the markets.
The nation’s leading dairy producer Vinamilk spent $10 million to acquire Driftwood, a milk production facility in the US nearly 10 years ago. After several years of restructuring, the facility helped Vinamilk make a profit of $100 million and bring Vietnam’s dairy products to the US market.
The T&T Group of Do Quang Hien became well known in Africa after it succeeded in the biggest raw cashew nut deal in history.
In 2020, the total import/export volume from T&G Group reached 400,000 tons, or 25 percent of the total import/export volume of Vietnam. The group plans to import 600,000 tons of raw cashew nuts this year.
Vinamilk affirmed that outward investment deals have brought big benefits to the company.
One of the gains is the acquisition of large land funds to set up organic milk cow farms overseas, which Vinamilk finds difficult to have in Vietnam. Producing materials in other countries and bringing them to Vietnam has proven to be a good choice.
Vinamilk recently bought Miraka shares in New Zealand, an investment item which not only brings dividends but also helps it have a stable supply source of milk powder.
VinFast, the auto manufacturer belonging to Vingroup, has taken over the 900-hectare Lang Lang car testing center in Australia, a daring move, analysts said, that will help VinFast set foot in the international market.
To serve international projects, VinFast has recruited hundreds of engineers who once worked for well-known automobile manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota. In 2020, it set up an R&D center in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Duc Tai has brought Dien May Xanh, a home appliance distribution brand of Mobile World (MW), to Cambodia. The brand now holds 50 percent of the Cambodian market share. The success in Cambodia will help MWG reach Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar.
M. Ha
