RoK-based corporation to acquire stake in VISSAN

The Republic of Korea’s CJ CheilJedang Corporation (CJ) is planning to pick up a stake in State-owned Vietnam Meat Industries Limited Company (VISSAN), which is working to be equitised in 2015.

CEO Kim Chul Ha revealed his company’s plan at a meeting with Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang on October 29.

Kim said he believed that as a leading processed food manufacturer in the RoK, CJ will make a great contribution to the development of VISSAN.

He also unveiled the firm’s intention to purchase shares in other State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that are scheduled to go up for initial public offerings (IPOs) this year. It will help speed up the equitisation progress of the city’s SOEs, he said.

When CJ becomes one of VISSAN’s shareholders, it will work to develop the Vietnamese firm’s technological foundations that enable a wider range of products while maintaining its core values and culture, the CEO assured.

For his part, Vice Chairman Cang said HCM City welcomed CJ’s investment in VISSAN, as processed food is one of the city’s four key industries.

He noted that the city is discussing a proper IPO roadmap for VISSAN and vowed that the IPO will be conducted in accordance with current laws in which the transparency and equality between domestic and overseas investors are ensured.

CJ CheilJedang Corporation has operated in Vietnam since 1998, earning 600 million USD per year. Its four core businesses are food and food services, bio and pharmaceuticals, entertainment and media, and home shopping and logistics.

VISSAN, founded in 1970, is among the country’s top manufacturers and exporters of fresh livestock, poultry meat and processed food.-VNA