While many who had to frantically reschedule their long-set plans due to last-minute announcements and poor coordination by Malacañang bright boys and mouthpieces who think Filipinos should be grateful that the powers-that-be occupying the Palace said “sorry” for the inconvenience, life goes on for businesses and industries elsewhere.
Vietnam, which a little over a decade ago was lagging behind the Philippines, is attracting a lot of investors for various sectors, among them the electronics industry with news that it attracted $10 billon in foreign direct investment inflows from such giants as Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Foxconn. Double digits—impressive, don’t you think so?
According to reports, Vietnam showed the fastest growth rate last year in terms of export revenues and foreign market share compared to other Asean countries—yes, the Philippines included—making it the 3rd biggest electronics exporter in the reguin and the 12th in the world.
Many find Vietnam a good place to do business in because of its tax incentives and the fact that its government is quick to see and take advantage of opportunities, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership boat which unfortunately, the Philippines missed out on.
And now, here comes US agri giant Cargill that has announced expansion plans via a new $30-million animal feed mill in Binh Duong province and a $10-million agreement with Saigon International Terminals Vietnam for dedicated grain and oilseeds warehousing facilities in Phu My. That’s a total $40 million, bringing Cargill’s investment to $180 million.
The company is also incorporating CSR into the equation with its commitment to build 25 more schools across rural Vietnam by 2020, after having fulfilled its initial goal of building 75 schools by 2015. The latest school located in Phu Xuyen district – the 75th school opened by Cargill in its 20 years in Vietnam – was inaugurated by Cargill chairman and chief executive David MacLennan a few days ago.
According to MacLennan, “Vietnam represents a very important market for us globally and presents clear growth opportunities. This year, we celebrate 20 years in the country during which we have leveraged our access to global markets and 150-year industry expertise to help contribute to the development of the agriculture sector here. These new investments and the extension of our school building program only reinforce our commitment to the Vietnamese market and its people.”
The employee-led volunteering program aims at providing better education to less privileged children in rural Vietnam. Cargill has raised more than $3.8 million for the program and has achieved its goal of building 75 schools by 2015. More than 13,000 children have benefitted from the program so far.
“Giving back to the communities we live and work in is in our company’s DNA. Every child deserves an education and what our Vietnam team has achieved with their school building initiative is nothing short of remarkable. It makes me proud to be part of the Cargill family and I am sure my 155,000 colleagues worldwide will agree,” said MacLennan.
The $30-million new animal feed mill will have a total capacity of 260,000 metric tons per year and will become operational in the first half of 2017. It will incorporate the latest technologies currently available in the industry. The feed mill will bring Cargill’s total number of animal nutrition production facilities in Vietnam to 12.
Cargill currently has 10 animal feed mills in Vietnam that produce compound feed for both livestock and aquatic species, and one facility in Dong Nai which provides premix animal nutrition ingredients to feed manufacturers and vertically integrated producers. The company has made strong headway in the animal nutrition business in Vietnam over the past 20 years and now stands as one of the most trusted leaders in that industry.
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