Foreign enterprises are showing a growing interest in Vietnam’s printing and packaging companies, shown by recent mergers and acquisitions and direct investments in new plants.
The printing and packagings sectors have posted average annual growth of over 10 percent, triggering a swarm of foreign investors to scour for investment opportunities in the field, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s newspaper.
The above statement was made by Nguyen Van Dong, chairman of the Vietnam Printing Association (VPA), at the 16th Vietnam International Printing & Packaging and Food Processing Industry Exhibition that opened Tuesday in Ho Chi Minh City.
Foregin enterprises have their eyes on Vietnam's printing and packaging sectors. Photo from Vietnamplus/ Hoang Hai |
Dong highlighted that the local printing market is steadily growing with nearly 2,000 printing enterprises nationwide and around 6,000 people working in this sector. Industrial production expansion has also contributed to the growth of industrial packaging and label printing, Dong said.
The industry's revenue reached VND60 trillion (nearly $2.7 billion) in 2015 and is expected to increase this year.
The latest foreign player to make a move in Vietnam was Korea's Gift by Design, which plans to open a factory in the central province of Quang Nam.
Well-known local printing and packaging companies have also been swallowed by M&As involving foreign investors.
Tin Thanh Packaging JSC is a typical example. The company has been operating for more than 15 years with total revenue of over VND1 trillion (nearly $45 million), but still chose to sell an 80 percent stake to Thailand’s SCG group.
Others less successful enterprises are looking to find foreign partners to maintain operations and restructure, and Vien Dong Printing JSC and Hoang Ha Printing JSC have already been bought out by European enterprises.
The VPA forecasts that this is just the start of the foreign investment wave in Vietnam's printing and packaging industries.
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