Thai conglomerate denies negotiations, purchase of Vietnam retail stores

Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group has denied any involvement in acquiring retail stores in Vietnam, rejecting recent news reports to this effect.

In a Monday announcement, CP Group categorically rejected the reports, saying they were entirely baseless. The group has “neither executed any acquisition of retail stores in Vietnam nor entered into negotiations for such acquisitions,” it said.

Late last month, a Reuters report said that many investors were vying to buy a 20% stake in grocer Bach Hoa Xanh, under Vietnam’s retail giant Mobile World Investment, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as MWG. The deal could value the grocery chain at up to $1.7 billion, Reuters quoted sources as saying.

Notable bidders included Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and an unnamed company from Thailand, the news wire service added. MWG officials told Reuters that it would make an announcement when the deal is concluded.

The Mobile World Investment Corporation earned VND56.57 trillion ($2.3 billion) in the first six months of the year, down 20% year-on-year and fulfilling 42% of its year plan.

The total revenue of its two chains - The Gioi Di Dong (mobile phones) and Dien May Xanh (electric and electronic home appliances) - dropped 27% year-on-year to VND41.5 trillion ($1.75 billion), while that of the Bach Hoa Xanh grocery chain increased 7% to VND13.6 trillion ($574.4 million).

As of end August, MWG had 1,171 The Gioi Di Dong stores, 2,286 Dien May Xanh stores, 1,706 Bach Hoa Xanh stores, 540 An Khang drugstores and 67 Ava Kids mother & kid stores.

CP Vietnam established its first animal feed factory in Vietnam in the southern province of Dong Nai in 1993, focusing on feed, farms and food. It has since become a dominant player in the country’s livestock market. The company is an integrated agro-industrial and food subsidiary of Thailand’s C.P. Group.

Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) recorded a revenue of THB58.23 billion ($1.64 billion) from its Vietnam operations in the first half of this year, down 6% year-on-year.