Vietnam Rubber Group urged to aim for US$10 billion revenues

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue at the working session with the Vietnam Rubber Group - Photo: VGP

He made the request at a meeting with the group on April 18, adding that the VRG must become a leading enterprise in agriculture and set an example for other agricultural businesses.

The group was equitised in June last year and its state-owned stake is currently managed by the Committee for Management of State Capital after being transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Although the initial public offering failed to meet the target as less than 25% of the state stake were sold, the group continued to record decent performance.

Last year, the VRG’s profits reached VND4.536 trillion (US$195 million), up 25.53% compared with the target set by the MARD.

Appreciating the group’s efforts, Deputy PM Hue stated that the VRG needs to diversify its products, especially rubberwood, in order to gain a larger share in the wood processing industry.

He noted that the VRG should focus on wood processing and industrial rubber products, which have yet to be fully tapped, instead of putting its resources into planting rubber trees, harvesting latex and manufacturing MDF wood.

Such an approach would reduce the VRG’s reliance on global rubber prices.

The Deputy PM also suggested that the VRG should attract secondary investors to support its wood-processing business, in addition to the development of industrial parks.

At the meeting, Deputy PM Hue requested that the group formulates a master plan to restructure its business, re-organise its land after equitisation and report on a number of rubber planting projects.