CJ to invest $500 million more into Vietnam in 2016

The money is going to be used to invest into new projects or M&As. The areas of interest are culture, as in opening movie theatres, producing movies and music, food production and warehousing —the fields CJ invested in over the past years in Vietnam.

At a press conference yesterday in Hanoi, Chang Bok Sang, president and CEO of CJ Vietnam, said that CJ had achieved steady growth over the past 20 years of operating in the country, with an average annual growth rate of 26.73 per cent in the period of 2011-2015.

According to Chang, CJ currently has extensive investments in China, the US, and Indonesia, but the company sees a lot of room for growth in Vietnam. Consequently, CJ plans to make Vietnam its third largest investment destination by 2020, following South Korea and China.

CJ has invested $400 million in Vietnam over the last 20 years. In 2011, through its foreign partner Envoy Media Partners, it invested $73.6 million into Megastar Media JSC, holding 80 per cent in the joint venture while Phuong Nam Culture Corporation held the other 20 per cent. The movie theatre chain recently changed its name to CGV and is now one of the biggest chains of movie theatres, growing steadily in the country.

Chang said, besides movie theatres, CJ was pushing a number of projects to produce small screen and big screen movies, as well as music. CJ’s first projects have earned big success. The movie Miss Granny has surpassed De Mai Tinh 2 to have the highest box revenue among Vietnamese movies. Other projects include Let Hoi Decide and the drama series Forever Young.

In food production, CJ has a pastry chain named Tous les Jours in Ho Chi Minh City. Besides a flour production plant, the company currently has four plants producing animal feed in Vietnam and harbours plans to expand in this area. Recently, the company has bought 4 per cent of meat and meat product company Vissan and hopes to buy more. Chang said CJ wanted to invest in technology in order to help Vissan’s products compete better in the domestic market, as well as internationally.

Furthermore, CJ is looking for a capable local partner to grow a retail chain.

CJ started investing in Vietnam in 1998 and has established a presence in various fields including agriculture, entertainment and media, logistics, and real estate.