Japanese firm strikes $90 million deal to buy Saigon Paper

Japanese firm Sojitz Corp has struck a $91.2 million deal to acquire a majority stake in Saigon Paper, Vietnam’s leading cardboard and tissue maker.

The Nikkei Asian Review reported that the Japanese company wants to tap increasing demand in this sector across Southeast Asia countries.

With the rise in online shopping, as well the shifting of textile and electronics production from China to Vietnam, cardboard demand in the country has increased tenfold over the past decade.

The toilet paper market has also benefited from higher living standards in Vietnam.

The founders of Saigon Paper, meanwhile, said they saw a need for greater efficiency and higher capital investments in the company that was established 21 years ago.

The Nikkei reported that Sojitz has acquired more than 90 percent of Saigon Paper. The Japanese firm will send a management team to help revamp Saigon Paper’s finance and accounting system, and upgrade its production facilities.

Both companies will collect wastepaper for recycling from industrial parks, logistics facilities and Ministop convenience stores, which Sojitz helps operate.

Besides tissue paper, Saigon Paper also produces cardboard and toilet paper components under the brand Bless You. The company earns more than $100 million a year from producing 40,000 tons of residential use paper and 230,000 tons of industrial paper.

Sojitz, aims to increase its total revenues to $163 million by 2022 by increasing sales in Vietnam by 40 percent.