Singapore packaging giant Tetra Pak will raise its investment in Vietnam's southern province of Binh Duong to $173 million under an investment certificate granted at the “Meet Singapore 2023” event on Monday.
The new investment will expand its existing project in Binh Duong to produce aseptic packages from paper, plastic and aluminum for drinks cartons.
Tetra Pak's initial EUR120 million ($130 million) Binh Duong factory entered operation in 2019 and is Tetra Pak’s eighth plant in Asia-Pacific, manufacturing sterilized carton packages for Vietnam, other ASEAN nations, Australia and New Zealand.
In 2021, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm invested an additional EUR5 million ($5.44 million) to raise the Binh Duong-based factory’s capacity from 11.5 billion to 16.5 billion packages a year, and upgrade the facility to produce top-tier packages as substitutions for imported products.
In March 2023, Tetra Pak installed 5,900 square meters of rooftop solar panels on the factory, reducing carbon emissions by 700 tons and generating 1,900 MWh a year.
At the event, also held to mark 50 years of the Vietnam-Singapore partnership (1973-2023), Binh Duong authorities also granted investment certificates to three other Singaporean projects.
Becamex-VSIP Power Investment and Development JSC will invest $5.2 million in a project involving production and distribution of electricity, gas, water and air conditioning units.
R-PAC Vietnam Limited will invest $2.5 million in manufacturing clothing labels, bar code cards, smart cards and boxes.
Petersson Technologies Vietnam Company Limited will invest $2 million in manufacturing, assembling and repairing mobile communications items, transmission devices and electrical goods.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang called on Binh Duong authorities and Singaporean partners to focus on sustainable growth, such as green transition, greenhouse gas reduction, digitalization, innovation and development of new industrial sectors.
Singaporean Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Kho Ngee Seng Roy affirmed that Singapore is willing to accompany Vietnam and Binh Duong province in those tasks, especially growth of renewable energy, development of green and sustainable industrial parks, and climate change adaptation.
Binh Duong Chairman Vo Van Minh highlighted that the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) has developed into a role model for industrial growth in Vietnam. While VSIP I facility focuses on light industries, VSIP II will focus on green activities powered by solar energy, such as Lego’s first carbon-neutral factory there, he added.
Singapore is now the third-biggest foreign investor in Binh Duong province with registered capital of nearly $5.5 billion. The figure includes $450 million so far this year, or 27.5% of the province’s total, the biggest portion among all investors.