WB arm joins with Japanese lender to invest $60 mln in Vietnamese firms

The World Bank’s IFC is making two new investments in Vietnam’s retail and agribusiness sectors to help strengthen the value chain and support food security in the country.

A partnership between IFC and Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) was signed on Friday in Ho Chi Minh City for a $40 million commodity-backed warehouse finance facility for agricultural firm TTC AgriS, part of the HCMC-based conglomerate TTC Group.

On Thursday, the IFC signed an agreement to invest VND460 billion ($20 million) in CVS, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Son Kim Retail Corp., to help expand the retail network of GS25 Vietnam, a convenience store chain.

For TTC AgriS, it is the first commodity-backed warehouse finance loan provided by the IFC and SMBC. The facility, to be processed under the IFC's Global Warehouse Finance Program (GWFP), will help boost the warehouse financing market in Vietnam, which is still at a nascent stage.

The funding will also encourage local banks to participate in the agribusiness value chain to optimize agri-financing opportunities in this high-potential sector, the World Bank arm said.

“The facility will allow TTC AgriS to take out loans using raw materials as collateral, which will give us increased working capital to be more flexible to procure, store, and distribute materials and goods, leading to a more efficient system,” said Dang Huynh Uc My, vice chairwoman of TTC AgriS.

TTC AgriS, whose former name is TTC Sugar, is Vietnam’s largest sugar producer and has transformed into an integrated agribusiness. It is headquartered in HCMC with its parent company, TTC Group.

“Our cooperation with the IFC and SMBC will be an important part of our circular economy development strategy, in line with our orientation of transforming into an integrated smart agro-economic business model to affirm our leading position as a comprehensive agriculture solutions provider in Vietnam,” My said.

GWFP under the IFC is looking to increase working capital financing available to agricultural producers and traders by leveraging their commodities in storage. To date, the GWFP has supported over $10 billion in global trade, said the IFC.

Thomas Jacobs, IFC country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, said in a release on Friday that the IFC has made agribusiness a priority because of its potential for broad development impacts and strong role in poverty reduction. With solid economic growth, an emerging middle class, and rising demand for improved hygiene and food safety in Vietnam, both our investments will help offer improved product variety and services to consumers, support local producers, and facilitate commodity trade flows, key to the country’s future resilience.

The IFC $20 million funding will help GS25 Vietnam - a joint venture between Son Kim Retail and Korean firm GS Retail - open over 500 new convenience stores nationwide by 2025. The network expansion is expected to create up to 6,000 direct jobs (more than 60% for women) and generate thousands more indirect jobs, with the JV increasing its supply of locally produced food.

Son Kim Retail CEO James Kershek said: “We are deeply committed to championing environmental, social, and governance best practices as demonstrated by our diverse and fast-growing workforce, safe and sustainable food offerings, and management decision-making processes.”

The IFC said it will advise GS25 Vietnam to enhance its in-store food safety practices and reduce food loss and waste.

To date, GS25 Vietnam has expanded its footprint to more than 200 stores in HCMC and the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The IFC and HCMC-based Vietnam International Bank (VIB) also signed a deal in Singapore on Monday for a five-year USD-denominated loan of $100 million to fuel the Vietnamese private bank’s housing portfolio.