Agri major Hoang Anh Gia Lai successfully restructures by betting on agriculture: chairman

After facing a financial crisis with debts mounting to VND32 trillion ($1.21 billion), Hoang Anh Gia Lai JSC (HAGL) has chosen agriculture as its path to restructuring and become successful, said chairman Doan Nguyen Duc.

Revival through agriculture

Speaking at the Gia Lai Investment Promotion Conference 2025 on Friday, Duc said he was the first to invest in the eastern part of Gia Lai province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, after which HAGL expanded its operations across the country and even ventured into Southeast Asia.

Between 2007 and 2014, HAGL was one of the largest companies in Vietnam. However, by 2016, the company faced failure for several reasons.

In response, HAGL returned to Gia Lai and chose agriculture as the sole focus to restructure its operations. Over the past 10 years, the company boldly embraced agriculture and the fertile land of Gia Lai for its turnaround. As of today, the restructuring has been a success.

"In 2016, the company lost liquidity and was burdened with a debt of VND32 trillion ($1.21 billion). Now, the debt has been reduced to VND4 trillion ($151.83 million). Total assets now stand at VND26 trillion ($987 million)," Duc noted.

According to him, Gia Lai has not fully tapped into its potential. With the right investment, especially in high-tech agriculture, failure would be hard to imagine, as the land of Gia Lai is rich and fertile, where all crops grow well, and produce fetches high prices.

"For example, we currently own 7,000 hectares of banana plantations, exporting 40 containers daily. These bananas are primarily exported to Japan and China - markets that are notoriously difficult to crack. The bananas grown at an altitude of 800 meters are highly sought after by Japanese customers, due to their superior quality compared to those grown at lower altitudes of 100-120 meters," Duc added.

The chairman also emphasized that Gia Lai is leading the national agricultural sector, with many large enterprises and agricultural pioneers such as Thanh Thanh Cong-Bien Hoa JSC (TTC AgriS) and Nutifood Gia Lai.

He cited HAGL’s own experience as an example: from losses to initial profits in agriculture. The company targets to make VND5 trillion ($189.8 million) in profit from agriculture by 2028.

"HAGL is a listed company, so it's easy to track our profits and losses. Therefore, I encourage you to trust Gia Lai and the province’s leadership, as there is a great agricultural story to be told here," he said.

Rich potential for high-tech agriculture

TTC AgriS, which has been investing in Gia Lai since 2007 with its sugarcane factory in Asung Pa, also recognizes that the province still has vast room to grow in high-tech agriculture, especially when combined with food processing industries.

Thai Van Chuyen, CEO of TTC AgriS, shared that the company is currently implementing six major projects in the province, with a total investment of nearly VND6 trillion ($227.75 million).

These include high-tech pilot farms with 500 hectares, an AgriS Gia Lai research center focusing on sugarcane varieties and crops suited to the region’s climate, the development of an agricultural industry database center to assist policy-making and intelligent management, and a high-tech fruit value chain featuring Highland bananas and MD2 pineapples meeting Global GAP standards.

The company also plans to increase the capacity of its AgriS Gia Lai sugar factory from 8,000 to 15,000 tons of sugarcane per day and expand its organic fertilizer factory capacity from 9,000 to 34,000 tons per year.

"ArigS’s success in Gia Lai is a vivid proof of the strength of collaboration between the government, businesses, and the community. Gia Lai is a region having all the right conditions to become a leading investment destination," Chuyen remarked.

From an expert’s perspective, Dr. Tran Du Lich, a member of the National Monetary Policy Advisory Council, praised Gia Lai for its favorable climate for high-tech agriculture. He also highlighted the province's potential to develop renewable energy such as wind, solar, and biomass.

The new Gia Lai province was recently formed by a merger of the former central coastal province of Binh Dinh and the former Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Looking ahead, from 2026 to 2030, Gia Lai plans to attract investments into over 400 projects, including renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass), food processing, semiconductors, electronics, and high-tech agriculture.

During the Gia Lai Investment Promotion Conference 2025, the province granted in-principle approvals or investment registration certificates for 27 projects, with total registered capital of VND26.26 trillion (over $1 billion).

Additionally, provincial authorities handed over memoranda of investment cooperation for 42 projects, with expected capital of VND93.43 trillion (nearly $3.6 billion), mostly in the industrial and agriculture sectors.