Wood processor takes new partners

Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation, one of Viet Nam’s largest wooden products makers and exporters, announced yesterday it has sold over 33 per cent of its shares to 10 strategic partners.

The Binh Duong Province-based company said six of them were foreign entities – Aureos South East Asia Managers Ltd., Vina Capital’s VOF Investment Ltd., Deutsche Asset Management, IFAG Institutionelle, and Asset Management Consulting AG – and the rest local, including Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Co.

The former have together bought 2.8 million shares amounting to 18.3 per cent of the total, and the latter 2.3 million shares. But the parties refused to divulge the price.
Aureos South East Asia Managers Ltd. has picked up the largest chunk – some 1.09 million shares.

TTFC’ s general director Vo Truong Thanh said the deal was part of the company’s long-term strategy to strengthen its financial capability and expand to meet demand which was growing at over 50 per cent annually.

Thanh, also TTFC’s president, said the strategic partners would also contribute to management, particularly financial, and boosting the company’s prestige globally.

TTFC plans to build a new wood processing plant in Binh Duong’s Tan Uyen District at a cost of VND194 billion ($12.1 million). The 16ha plant, reportedly the most modern of its kind in Viet Nam, is expected to produce 40 per cent of the company’s output.

Another huge project, to set up a company that will plant forests, has received Government support in terms of policies and land issues.

The new company will undertake a 10-year, VND500 billion project to plant 50,000ha of forest that will yield of 1 million cu.m of timber a year from the seventh year onwards, ten times the company’s current timber use.

TTFC also plans to invest in expanding the Truong Thanh-Eah’ Leo industrial complex by another 100ha in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lac.
Next month it also plans to make a public issue of shares with a face value of VND75,000.
Subsequently, it will list on the HCM City stock exchange.

Source: VNE

Savimex seeks to nail growing exports to US, EU

The Ho Chi Minh City-based joint stock Savimex Corp opened a plank, or plywood, factory in Thu Duc District on July 17 to supply new products to the US and EU markets.

Savimex general director, Le Minh Trang, said the company had won a contract to supply at least 10 containers of plank products per month to New Jersey-based Acorn USA Holdings Llc in 2007.

Savimex’s total export of plank products to American and EU markets amounts to 100 containers per month.

Trang said Savimex expected export turnover of at least 3 million USD per year for the new products.

In addition, the company will also supply these products to local customers who buy plywood for new serviced apartments under construction in cities across the country.

”Modernising the company’s production lines and management and equipping them with advanced technologies are our priorities,” said Trang.

She added Savimex targeted annual export turnover of 40 million USD by 2010.

Source: VEN

Hoa Phat Corporation to list on bourse

Hoa Phat Corporation, the nation’s one of leading wood products firms, has filed to list shares with the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in September.

The corporation has increased its charter capital from 1.1 trillion VND (68.8 million USD) to 1.3 trillion VND (81.3 million USD) and issued 20 million shares this year, earning 1.2 trillion VND (75 million USD).

Hoa Phat posted profits of 200 billion VND (12.5 million USD) in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 63 percent.

Source: VNA

Investment funds hunting wooden furniture companies’ shares

Investment funds are now eyeing wooden furniture companies’ shares since the wooden furniture processing industry proves to be the one which has seen the highest growth rate in the last few years.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Vietnam-made wooden furniture products are present in 120 countries throughout the world. 28% of exports go to Europe, 24% to Japan, and 20% to the US.

Tran Quoc Manh, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Fine Arts and Wooden Furniture Processors’ Association, and Director of Sadaco, said that the industry had been witnessing the growth rate of 40-50% per annum in the last few years. Vietnamese companies can export products directly and not go through third parties.

“It is the right time for investment funds to inject money in wooden furniture companies, which have a high growth rate and low risk,” Mr Manh said.

Sadaco, for example, has signed a cooperation agreement with VinaCapital, while another fund is also seeking to buy Sadaco shares.

In February 2007, Aureos decided to make a $3mil investment in Truong Thanh Wooden Furniture Industrial Company to become the biggest strategic shareholder. Truong Thanh later received a lot of other offers from both domestic and foreign funds, including VinaCapital, Indochina Capital and Bao Viet Securities.

Truong Thanh had the total turnover of VND170bil 9$10.62mil) in 2005, and the figure rose to VND326bil ($20.37mil) in 2006. In the first quarter of 2007 alone, the turnover was VND173bil ($10.81mil).

The Denmark-based Penm has also signed an agreement on strategic cooperation with the Duc Thanh Wooden Furniture Processing Company. The deal was inked just two days after the fund set up a representative office in HCM City.

Prior to that, Duc Thanh had a foreign strategic shareholder, Mekong Enterprise Fund Ltd.

The Thuan An Wooden Furniture Processing Company, which is going to list on the bourse in June, has reported that the company has signed an agreement on investment in the company with two foreign based funds.

Source: VNE