Bourbon to pour capital into sectors

Bourbon rivals are braced for more competition

President of Groupe Bourbon (GB) Jacques de Chateauvieux told Vietnam Investment Review last week that now was the right time for the company to expand into such lucrative investment fields, following the company’s successful projects in goods distribution, transport and food processing since it came to Vietnam in 1995.
“Vietnam is recognised as an emerging Asian market, and with its population of more than 80 million and its young, powerful and skillful labour force, is considered a good location for investment. With our expertise and good experiences in the country so far, we wish to ensure our projects here go ahead,” he said.
GB is presently the largest French investor in Vietnam with seven projects currently underway with an estimated value of $250 million, comprising two sugar production projects, three Big C hypermarkets and two transport-related operations.
Last week, GB opened its latest Big C hypermarket on an area of 6,500 square metres in Hanoi.
The latest inauguration follows the first $54-million centre in Dong Nai province in 1998 and the $35-million shopping facilities in An Lac and Binh Dong in Ho Chi Minh City in 2001. The Hanoi-based project received its investment licence in 1999 with a total investment capital of $30 million. GB holds a 65 per cent stake in the venture while the Hanoi Thang Long General Trading Company contributed the remaining capital in land-use rights.
Chateauvieux told VIR the second phase of the Hanoi project would begin immediately with offices, hotels and apartments to be built on an additional 40,000 square metres.
“Vietnamese customers are increasingly demanding high-quality and hygienic products. As a result, I believe that in the next few years, smaller provinces in Vietnam will want hypermarkets, in addition to larger cities. Thus, the development of a chain of Big C hyper-markets in the country is an effective strategy for expansion,” said Chateauvieux.
Following the completion of the Hanoi-based Big C, GB has plans for similar projects in Haiphong, Danang and Can Tho. Despite predicting fiercer competition in the Vietnamese retail sector from newcomers Metro and Parkson, Chateauvieux was confident the Big C chain would be very successful in Vietnam. Big C Dong Nai receives in excess of 10,000 customers daily on average and the figure is predicted to be similar for Big C Hanoi, he said.