CJ Group has laid out a plan to invest $500 million in Vietnam this year. Chang Bok-sang, President of CJ Group in Vietnam, told local reporters last Thursday that the Seoul-based conglomerate will invest $500 million in the country this year, Thanh Nien News reported. It is the single largest investment plan committed by a Korean company.

CJ Group which opened its office in Vietnam in 1998 has invested a total of $300 million in 12 businesses including entertainment, agriculture and logistics and posted revenue of $600 million in 2014. Chang said in the press conference that Vietnam has proved to be a highly promising market where CJ businesses grew 26.73 percent a year on average in 2011-15.

CJ has increased its presence in Vietnam through business acquisitions. It took over Ong Kim’s, a popular brand of Kimchi in Vietnam, in January. Ong Kim’s established by a Korean national in 2005 posted 2.7 billion won ($2.26 million) in sales last year and is producing Kimchi tailored to the taste of Vietnamese.

“In Vietnam, Kimchi is expensive and consumed as a special dish instead of an ordinary side dish. We acquired the local company because of restrictions on export of perishables,” said a CJ Group official.

Meanwhile, CJ Group will work together with the country’s top meat producer Vissan for cold chain products. The Korean company bought a 4.18 percent stake Vissan for $13.26 million during the company’s initial public offering. It is seeking to acquire another 14 percent in Vissan.

CJ Group has made concerted efforts to penetrate into Vietnam. In 2012, CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun presided over a meeting of its global presidents in Ho Chi Minh City, where he declared a vision to build a third CJ in Vietnam after a second one in China.

CJ Group made tangible business results in Vietnam with aggressive investments into animal feed, bakery, home shopping, multiplex cinema chain, logistics and biotech businesses. It rose to the top spot in bakery, home shopping and cinema in Vietnam.

Vietnam remains in growth mode with a 6.5 percent gain in GDP last year despite a global recession.

By Jun Ji-hyun

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