HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese agriculture and food company PAN Group JSC has officially launched a collaboration promotion committee with the Japanese Sojitz Corporation, comprised of food and agribusiness staff from both companies, to strengthen the ties between them. 

According to the cooperation, with the investment equivalent to 10 per cent of the chartered capital of PAN Group, Sojitz is committed to supporting the business development of the partner through the provision of logistics support, consulting, supply input materials and distribution of products to increase sales and improve the performance of companies in the PAN Group. In addition, Sojitz will also introduce and look for new business opportunities for PAN.

PAN Group will support the development of Sojitz’s production and business operations in the Vietnamese market.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Tsutomu Tanaka, Sojitz’s managing director, said that with this partnership, the PAN Group and Sojitz will jointly develop and utilise the greatest strengths of the two groups to contribute to the agriculture, fisheries, food processing and confectionery manufacture sectors, striving to become the leading foodstuff groups in Việt Nam and creating a food value chain in this market.

The PAN Group’s chairman Nguyễn Duy Hưng affirmed that this is one of the strategic steps to help the PAN Group realise the dream of raising Vietnamese agriculture and food to a new level. Specifically, in addition to shareholder relations, the PAN Group will cooperate with Sojitz in business activities on the principle of ensuring each party’s interests.

On September 25, Sojitz acquired 13.4 million shares, equivalent to a 10 per cent stake, and became the strategic business ally of the Pan Group.

PAN Group, formed in 1998, has been expanding in recent years through M&As. Its current businesses cover seed and cultivation, confectionery and FMCG packaged food products, cashew nut and aquatic products.

The company’s profit have steadily increased since 2014, reaching nearly VNĐ503 billion in 2017, up 49.5 per cent against 2016. Ending June this year, it recorded consolidated sales of VNĐ3.55 trillion and net profit of VNĐ204.7 billion, up 136 per cent in revenue and 66 per cent in profit compared to the same period last year. — VNS