Singapore firm to invest $60 mln in Vietnam appliance maker

The Singapore-based company currently holds a 24.9 percent stake in the Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) and wants to increase the ownership to 35.01 percent, REE said in a recent statement.

Platinum Victory has proposed to pay VND45,000 ($1.95) for each of the 31.3 million shares, which is 18 percent higher than the listed price as of Wednesday morning on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

However, as the foreign ownership in REE has already reached the cap of 49 percent, Platinum Victory will have to buy the additional stake from other foreign investors.

Platinum Victory is a unit of diversified conglomerate Jardine Cycle & Carriage, one of the biggest listed companies in Singapore in terms of market cap.

It is also a major shareholder in Vietnam’s largest dairy firm Vinamilk with a 10.6 percent ownership. Since the end of last year, it has been making moves to acquire more ownership in REE and Vinamilk without success.

Ho Chi Minh City-based REE produces air conditioners and ventilation equipment. It also has interests in real estate and energy.

Its revenue from January to September was VND3.46 trillion ($149.52 million), up 2.9 percent year-on-year.