In announcing the move, Siam Cement Group President and CEO Kan Trakulhoon stated “We will continue our investment in the Vietnam market, focusing on cement, building materials, paper and chemicals.”
The Siam Group currently has 19 affiliates in Vietnam with total assets of US$615 million. The group posted VND6.7 trillion (US$320 million) in sales revenue in Vietnam in 2012, an 11 percent increase from a year earlier.
In the first half of this year, sales registered a year-on-year increase of 43 percent to hit VND4.9 trillion (US$230 million).
Last December, the Thai group paid VND5.12 trillion (US$240 million) for an 85 percent ownership interest in Prime Group, a leading building material producer in Vietnam, as part of a move to be more competitive in the ASE AN bloc.
“Vietnam is an emerging economy with a large and dynamic population and good business environment. Remarkably, we have seen its efforts in building the ASEAN Economic Community. In this context, Vietnam has manyfavourablefactors for our upcoming plans,” CEO Trakulhoon added.
Last year the Siam Group and Thai Plastics and Chemicals Public Company Limited formed a joint venture with QPI Vietnam (a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum International), the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Vietnam National Chemicals Group (VinaChem) to invest in a petroleum project in Vietnam.
