BANGKOK: The Nawaplastic Industries a subsidiary of Thailand’s Siam Cement Group (SCG), has registered to buy an additional 29.51 per cent stake in Vietnamese plastic producer Binh Minh Plastic JSC , lifting its ownership to nearly 50 per cent, according to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE). Vietnam’s sovereign wealth fund State Capital Investment Corporation plans to offload its 29.51 per cent stake in BMP on March 9, kicking off a much-delayed divestment exercise. The sale of 24 million shares of the plastics producer will be implemented through a public auction on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. At the starting price of VND96,500 ($4.26) apiece, Nawaplastic Industries must spend at least VND2.3 trillion ($101.2 million) to acquire the additional stake. If successful, Nawaplastic will raise its stake in BMP to 49.91 per cent, cementing its position as the largest stakeholder in the plastic company.
Established in 1977, Binh Minh Plastics has cemented its position as the country’s leading manufacturer and trader of plastic pipes and fittings. Apart from Nawaplastic, its other investors include Franklin Templeton Investments that owns 10.78 per cent. Nawaplastic had earlier divested its entire 24 per cent stake in Tien Phong Plastic JSC, a rival of BMP, for more than VND1.5 trillion ($66 million). As of 2017, SCG has invested about $121 million in Vietnam’s plastic industry. The Thai group also holds shares in a number of companies specializing in the production of household plastics, such as Viet-Thai Plastchem, TPC Vina Chemical and Plastic Corporation, and Minh Thai House Component.
