South Korean drink, brewing and distillery firm HiteJinro, a leading producer of soju, plans to invest $100 million in Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park, Thai Binh province.
Local business Green i-Park Corporation, the investor of Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park, and HiteJinro signed an in-principle land lease agreement for the cooperation last Friday, Thai Binh authorities announced on Monday.
Accordingly, the South Korean giant will lease 8.4 hectares of land in the industrial park to build the drinks factory.
Speaking at the event, Kim In-Kyu, CEO of HiteJinro, lauded Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park’s infrastructure, saying it met all of the firm’s requirements for its first foreign investment. He expected the investment to be a successful example of manufacturing drinks outside his home nation while paving the way to enter the Southeast Asian market.
The investment is Lien Ha Thai’s fifth project worth at least $100 million and demonstrates the facility’s strengths in modern infrastructure, geographical connectivity, and availability over large areas, said Bui The Long, CEO of Green i-Park. The firm will provide more preferential policies for investors, especially HiteJinro, he added.
Addressing the event, Nguyen Khac Than, chairman of the Thai Binh provincial People's Committee, urged the firm to cooperate with local authorities to complete the investment certificate. He also expected HiteJinro’s investment to inspire more South Korean firms to invest in the province.
HiteJinro is a combination of Jinro, South Korea’s first soju company founded in 1924, and Hite, South Korea’s first brewery founded in 1933. The firm established its Vietnamese unit in November 2015.
Thai Binh's gross regional domestic product grew 7.72% year-on-year in the first nine months of this year, according to the provincial statistics office. In the period, the province licensed 13 new foreign direct investment projects with total registered capital of $77.85 million.