John Swire & Sons explores investment opportunities in Binh Phuoc province

UK-headquartered John Swire & Sons is looking for investment opportunities in southeastern Vietnam's Binh Phuoc province.

The company has been investing in four sectors in Vietnam since 1990, namely real estate, beverages, aviation, and healthcare.

Josh Williams, chief representative of John Swire & Sons in Vietnam, told chief of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong in a Monday meeting after surveying industrial parks that the firm plans to continue investing in various sectors in the country.

The investment will be phased out, based on Vietnam's development pace, and John Swire & Sons is looking for investment opportunities in places like Binh Phuoc.

In reply, Cuong emphasized the province’s transport advantages, including the prime locations of industrial parks and under-construction roads connecting nearby provinces. The province, also a gateway to the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia development triangle, has attracted 377 foreign investment projects to date with registered capital of $4 billion, the provincial leader added.

Another advantage Binh Phuoc boasts is strong human resources with 600,000 workers out of its population of one million.

Binh Phuoc is now home to 12 operating industrial parks with an average occupation rate of 68%, and three more are under construction.

Cuong proposed John Swire & Sons invest in the province’s prioritized sectors, including industrial real estate, food, consumer goods, and logistics.

In Vietnam, Swire, a subsidiary of John Swire & Sons, is well known as a Coca-Cola franchisee. In January, Swire Pacific Ltd., a Swire unit, completed its purchase of the entire Coca-Cola bottling subsidiary in Vietnam, marking the Hong Kong company’s first expansion into the Southeast Asian beverages market. Swire Coca-Cola started its acquisition of the Coca-Cola Company’s bottling operations in Vietnam and Cambodia for $1.02 billion in all last July to drive regional expansion.

Binh Phuoc is calling for investments in 62 projects worth $23.53 billion from both domestic and foreign sources until 2030 following a decision recently signed by its People's Commitee chairperson.

The projects involve industrial park development, residential areas, fruit, cashew, wood, rubber processing, supporting industries, manufacturing, services for the export of farm produce, market and mall construction, healthcare, education; residential-commercial-service-tourism areas, agriculture, high technology, renewable energ,; and solid waste treatment.