September 20, 2007

South Korea's Maeil buys stake in Hanoi's JSC

South Korean milk producer Maeil will buy a VND3.5-billion (US$218 million) stake in Hanoi Milk JSC after signing a strategic partnership deal on September 19.

The buyout did not disclose any figures.

The deal should hopefully give their company a greater international exposure as Maeil's products are distributed in 20 countries, according to Tran Dang Tuan, CEO of Hanoi Milk.  Maeil belongs to the top three dairy producers in South Korea.

Maeil, through its vice chairman Chung Jong Hun, said Vietnam's milk market has vast potentials considering country's very young population. He added the purchase will also improve the technology and management capabilities of Hanoi Milk.

Hanoi Milk, with help from Maeil, also plans to build a milk processing plant in South Vietnam.

Hanoi Milk has also received approval from the State Securities Commission to increase its charter capital from VND75 billion (US$4.69 million) to VND100 billion (US$6.25 million) by issuing additional shares on the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre in early October.