Suntory Pepsico to open $189 mln southern Vietnam factory in 2026 

Suntory Pepsico Vietnam Beverage, producer of carbonated soft drink Pepsi in Vietnam, plans to put its VND4.43 trillion ($188.6 million) factory in Long An province into operation in the first quarter of 2026, said Taka Sanno, CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pacific.

The 20-hectare plant in Huu Thanh Industrial Park will have an annual output of 796 million liters of products, including beverages, purified water, milk, and others.

In a Wednesday meeting with Long An's Chairman Nguyen Van Ut, the executive also asked provincial authorities to help with the investment.

Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam's popular products in Vietnam include energy drink Sting, soft drinks Pepsi and 7Up, O Long TEA+, Lipton, and purified water, among others.

The beverage giant now has factories in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho city, Quang Nam, Bac Ninh, and Dong Nai provinces. The newest factory, located in the central province of Quang Nam and inaugurated in June 2017, has an annual capacity of 850 million liters and investment of $56 million.

In February, Suntory Pepsico, a joint venture established in 2013 by PepsiCo Inc. and Suntory Holdings Limited, was granted an investment adjustment certificate by Can Tho authorities for an additional investment of $38.8 million in its factory in the southern city.

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam declined 7.3% year-on-year to nearly $10.86 billion in the first five months of the year, while disbursed capital dropped 0.8% to $7.56 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA). Of the registered capital, Long An province accounted for $474.1 million, up 14.8% year-on-year.

The Mekong Delta province currently has 24 industrial parks covering 6,000 hectares, of which 4,000 hectares have been leased, the Long An Economic Zone Authority reported in May. Besides, 700 hectares are ready to welcome investors.

The beverage sector is currently the second-biggest contributor to the state budget with about VND50 trillion ($2.1 billion) a year, only after the oil and gas sector, said Nguyen Tien Vy, vice chairman of the Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Association. The sector’s revenue could rise to $6 billion in 2025, he added.