Thailand and Japan jointly invest in craft paper business in Vietnam

BANGKOK, 29 January 2010 (NNT) – Thailand cooperated with Japan to invest in craft paper business in Vietnam worth six billion THB, due to the rising trend of the business at 10% per year.

Mr Chaowalit Eakabut, the Managing Director of SCG Paper stated that Vietnam currently was a very interesting investment venue, following its GDP growing rate at 5% along with its government supports, particularly in paper business with a growth rate of 10% per year, or 100,000 tons a year.

With the economic expansion, Vietnam required higher volume of papers. In 2009, the use of papers was 920,000 tons, while this year, the use tended to rise to a million ton. SCG Paper, therefore, joined hands with Renko Company in Japan to set a factory called Vina Craft Paper in Vietnam. It was the biggest craft paper manufacturer with an investment of six billion THB.

Mr Chaowalit said that the production capacity of the factory was 220,000 tons a year, or 600 tons a day. The actual production presently was at 500 tons per day, he expected that by next year the factory could produce at its full capacity. The manufacturer had also used the eco-technology to control the impacts from water and air pollution.

The company also planned to export the products to Cambodia and the Philippines. The products would be used to produce the packaging in several industries such as food and drinks, cloths and shoes.

Mr Chaowalit reiterated that investing in Vietnam led to the development of packaging industry to be the leader in ASEAN in the future. The project could enhance industrial standard in Vietnam and encourage sustainable economic development in ASEAN as well.