Asahi buys Vinythai stake

Asahi

Glass Co (AGC) says it has sealed a deal to buy a 58.8% stake in chemical producer Vinythai (VNT), the SET-listed joint venture of Solvay and PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC).

Kazuaki Koga, ACG’s chief executive, said the move will help increase revenue through boosting sales of Vinythai’s chemical products, particularly in Asean where demand is strong.

ACG paid 10.4 billion baht for the acquisition, or 15 baht per share, buying the Vinythai stake from Swiss shareholder Solvay Vinyls Holding AG.

ACG already has polyvinyl chloride production bases in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Vinythai produces caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride resins among other chemicals. It posted 16.7 billion baht in sales and a net profit of 566 million in 2015.

In the third quarter of this year, Vinythai and its subsidiaries posted a total revenue of 3.41 billion baht.

AGC’s net sales for fiscal 2016 were approximately 401 billion baht, with an operating profit of approximately 30 billion baht.

“Demand in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam accounts for around 70% of demand in this region. The AGC Group has established bases in each of these 3 countries,” said Mr Koga.

He added AGC expects robust growth in demand for its chemical products in major segments such as its glass segment, which manufactures and sells glass for use in construction, as well as its automobiles, and the electronics segment, which manufactures and sells glass for products such as LCD TVs and smartphones.

He said demand for PVC and caustic soda in Southeast Asia is expected to grow substantially.

Mr Koga said expansion of the chemical and glass segments are closely linked to increases in GDP, and the high growth it anticipates in Southeast Asia is expected to bring great benefits to the AGC Group.

“We will further expand our business platform, increase our presence and enhance our cost competitiveness in this region through synergy with Vinythai,” he said.

VNT shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 16.70 baht, down 30 satang, in trade worth 30.8 million baht.