At the end of January 2015, there were 525 foreign agricultural projects registered in Vietnam at a value of $3.67 billion – just a fraction of the total 17,579 foreign projects with a value of $251.83 billion. Agricultural investment in Vietnam is growing, but the lack of information, transparency, and problem resolution have held back many investors from committing capital to projects in the country.
To help with this, an independent task group including agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, local and foreign exports and consultants, and local and foreign enterprises, has been established in Hanoi this month. The group will be tasked with attracting foreign investment to the country’s agricultural sector, and will help foreign investors and firms implement projects either through public-private partnerships or through wholly-foreign investment.
Through the group’s offices in the north, center, Central Highlands, and the south, the group will consult with investors providing information on inputs, distribution channels, and merger and acquisition activity, and also provide assistance in resolving difficulties.
Indonesia’s Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food is reportedly ready to invest $80 million in the food processing sector in Vietnam and Malaysia in 2015, and is currently in negotiations to acquire a stake in Vietnamese milk company, Hanoimilk. If completed, the deal will bring Tiga Pilar an additional $18.8 to $23.5 million in profits per year. Other entities seeking investment opportunities in Vietnam are Japan’s Tsuno Food Company, which is looking to process rice bran into cooking oil, and Israel’s Agrotop Company which is investigating opportunities in high tech livestock production projects in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.
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