Korea’s Hyosung plans $720 mln additional investment in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province

South Korea’s industrial chaebol Hyosung plans to invest $720 million more in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau in a biofiber factory, said a delegation from the firm.

At the meeting on Monday with provincial authorities, Kim Kyung Hwan, CEO of Hyosung Vietnam, said the firm’s project to build a $540 million carbon fiber factory in Phu My II Industrial Park has been progressing well, thanks to the provincial authorities’ support.

Hyosung has proposed a $720 million investment in a new biofiber factory, also in Phu My II Industrial Park. This is set to become the world’s first project to use raw sugar to manufacture biofiber, a material used for spandex fiber, the executive added.

The firm also made recommendations to the province regarding material imports, workforce training, and pipelines connecting warehouses and its factory.

Welcoming the project, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Chairman Nguyen Van Tho asked the provincial industrial park authorities and relevant agencies to cooperate with the firm.

Established in May 2007, Hyosung Vietnam has so far invested in manufacturing tire cord, spandex, steel cord, technical yarn, nylon, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMG), and motors.

The Vietnam subsidiary recorded a profit of KRW121.4 billion ($94.35 million) from revenue of KRW2,123.1 billion ($1.65 billion) in 2022, according to the parent company’s financial statements.

Hyosung has invested at least $3.5 billion in Vietnam: $1.9 billion in the southern province of Dong Nai; $1.4 billion in Ba Ria-Vung Tau; $200 million in the central province of Quang Nam; and $100 million in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

In October, Hyosung received in-principle approval from Ba Ria-Vung Tau's industrial park authority to build a $540 million carbon fiber factory.