Korea chaebol Hyosung to pour extra $779 mln in southern Vietnam

Two Vietnam subsidiaries of South Korean industrial chaebol Hyosung have secured licenses to invest an additional $779 million in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

They were among five foreign-invested companies that were granted investment registration certificates or in-principle approvals at a Saturday conference to announce the provincial planning for the 2021-2030 period.

Among them, Hyosung Vina Chemicals Co., Ltd. will pour another $49 million into a project comprising a polypropylene (PP) plant and an underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage in Cai Mep Industrial Park, raising its tally to $1.6 billion.

Its sister company, Hyosung Dong Nai Co., Ltd., will invest $730 million in a bio-based (1,4 Butanediol) BDO production plant in Phu My 2 Industrial Park. 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an important compound that is used as a starting material for the production of important polymers.

Besides, Japan’s Tosoh Corporation will proceed with a $176 million chemical project in Phu My 3 Specialized Industrial Park; Taiwan’s Electronic Tripod Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Chau Duc) with a $250 million factory project in Chau Duc Industrial Park; and Chinese display maker BOE with a $277.5 million second-phase plant producing smart terminals in Phu My 3 Specialized Industrial Park.

The five FDI projects have combined investment capital of $1.48 billion.

At the conference, 10 other Vietnamese projects worth a total of VND25.7 trillion ($1.03 billion) also secured investment licenses or in-principle approvals. They cover pharmaceuticals, urban development, industry, and tourism.

Notably, Phu My Plastics Production JSC will add VND11.39 trillion ($459 million) to its operational Phu My polypropylene plant in Cai Mep Industrial Park, bringing the total investment capital of the project to VND24.86 trillion.

At a meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on the sidelines of the conference, Lee Sang-woon, vice chairman of Hyosung Corp., said that the chaebol had invested over $4 billion in Vietnam since its entry into the Southeast Asian country in 2007. It has some 9,000 employees in four provinces: Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Quang Nam, and Bac Ninh.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau has so far attracted 465 FDI projects totaling more than $33 billion by businesses from 30 countries and territories.

The province, adjacent to the country’s economic hub Ho Chi Minh City, enjoyed an average 5.94% growth in GRDP in 2021-2023. In 2023, its GRDP reached VND366 trillion ($14.74 billion), or 3.51% of the national economy. Its average per capita income exceeded $8,000 last year, nearly twice the national average.