Sumitomo invests in Vietnamese logistics industry

Sumitomo is planning to enhance the operations of its industrial parks in the country by setting foot in logistics

Japanese-based Sumitomo Corporation has teamed up with logistics company Suzuyo and a Japanese public-private fund to take a 10 per cent stake in Vietnam’s Gemadept JSC, which engages in port operation and logistics.

According to the Nikkei Asia Review, Sumitomo provided more than half of the roughly ¥4 billion ($37 million) the team paid to a local fund for the stake.

With demand for container shipments growing by 7 per cent annually in Vietnam, Sumitomo plans to build a logistics network connecting plants to ports for the seamless export of locally produced goods, the newspaper reported.

Gemadept owns six ports in Vietnam and handles 1.7 million containers, accounting for more than 10 per cent market share.

Meanwhile, Sumitomo is operating three industrial parks in Hanoi’s suburbs and owns a logistics unit in the country. Sumitomo will develop a smartphone app that will enable truck drivers to reserve loading servicesat ports and electronically handle other paperwork.

Currently, at Haiphong port drivers have to wait for one to two hours for cargo to be loaded onto ships. Suzuyohas shortened this wait time to an average 12 minutes in Japan and plans to use the expertise in Vietnam.

About 14 million container equivalents of goods are shipped in and out of Vietnam annually. With a growth rate of 7 per cent, the number is expected to reach 23 million by 2025.

One year ago, Gemadept JSC divested 51 per cent stake in Hoa Sen-Gemadept Logistics and International Port Corporation. The transaction’s value was not disclosed, but it is estimated at over VND104 billion ($4.52 million).

According to its financial statement in the first quarter of 2018, Gemadept poured VND63.1 billion ($2.74 million) into Hoa Sen-Gemadept Port. Thanks to the transaction, the corporation's profit in the first quarter of 2018 was VND1.278 trillion ($55.57 million), twelve-times as much as in the same period last year.