Local firm Khatoco inaugurates $24 mln tobacco plant in central Vietnam

Khanh Viet Corporation (Khatoco), a multi-sector state-owned enterprise in Vietnam, has inaugurated a VND581 billion ($24.1 million) tobacco factory in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

The new factory, which opened Tuesday, marked the 40th anniversary of Khatoco, headquartered in Khanh Hoa. The 11.95-hectare factory, located at the Trang E Industrial Park, is triple the size of Khatoco’s previous facility. In particular, its newly-invested production line No.1, with an annual capacity of 21,600 tons, is considered among the most modern facilities in Southeast Asia.

The new investment will raise Khatoco’s tobacco annual output to one billion packs from 550 million a year, serving both domestic and export markets and employing about 650 people.

The new factory increases Khatoco’s tobacco investment to VND2.65 trillion ($108.9 million).

Construction of the factory had begun in July 2019 as part of Khanh Hoa authorities’ plan to relocate the factory to an industrial park.

Khatoco made a post-tax profit of VND150.46 billion ($6.2 million) on revenues of VND4.42 trillion ($181.5 million) in the first six months of 2023, according to the firm’s consolidated financial statements.

Tobacco is a major industry in the country. Its output in the first eight months of this year was 4.45 billion packs, up 8.6% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.