Thai giant Central Retail plans $25 mln investment in central province

Thailand's Central Retail plans to spend $25 million on building a commercial center and a chain of stores across the central province of Nghe An.

The 9,000-square-meter commercial center in Vinh town will have an investment capital of VND300-400 billion ($16.11 million), and the rest will be used for nine or 10 go! mini-stores across the province, Central Retail Vietnam CEO Olivier Langlet said at a meeting with Nghe An's authorities Friday.

Langlet also said the firm would seek to purchase farm produce and speciality products from Nghe An for its retail system.

Nghe An Vice Chairman Le Hong Vinh emphasized the province’s strengths, including the fourth biggest population in Vietnam at 3.5 million, a big consumption market on the back of a growing economy and nearly 250 farm products with three-four-star One Commune One Product (OCOP) certificates.

Last month, Central Retail representatives also made similar visits to the south-central province of Binh Thuan and the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap with similar investment proposals.

Central Retail Vietnam now operates 340 stores in 40 localities, serving more than 390,000 customers a day. The total floor area of its retail stores in Vietnam exceeds one million square meters. Notable brands under the giant are Big C supermarket, GO! mall, Tops Market outlets, and others.

Central Retail had announced in July that it plans to invest 30 billion baht ($828 million) in Vietnam until 2026 to expand its operation. The same month, the company launched a new outlet brand, Tops Market, in Ho Chi Minh City.