Hyosung Group plans to invest an additional $1.5 billion in Vietnam.

Recently, Bae In-han, General Manager of Hyosung Dong Nai Company and the highest representative of Hyosung in Vietnam, stated that the group will continue to invest an additional approximately $1.5 billion in Vietnam to build a biotechnology plant and a carbon fiber plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. This move not only highlights Hyosung Group's firm confidence in the Vietnamese market but also reaffirms its long-term commitment to "placing the next 100 years in Vietnam." Bae In-han also highly praised Vietnam for its stable and business-friendly investment environment, which provides a solid foundation for the group's long-term growth.

Since officially entering the Vietnamese market in 2007, Hyosung Group has established a wide-ranging presence in the region, investing in multiple production bases covering areas such as tire cord, elastic fabrics, steel cord, technical fibers, nylon, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMG), and engines. Years of efforts have enabled Hyosung to achieve remarkable success in the Vietnamese market. In the 2022 fiscal year, for instance, the company generated $1.65 billion in revenue and $94.35 million in profit in Vietnam, fully demonstrating the success of its business model and the enormous potential of the Vietnamese market.

On March 30, 2024, at the "Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province Vision Declaration and Investment Approval Ceremony" held in the Phước Bình 2 Industrial Park in the south of Vietnam, Hyundai TNC successfully obtained investment approval from the Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Provincial Government for the "Hyundai BDO Project." This project is a key layout by Hyundai Group in the field of sustainable development. The group plans to invest $1 billion to build a bio-based BDO factory with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons, actively adapting to the global trend of the materials market transitioning towards sustainable products.

Once the factory is completed and operational, Hyosung TNC will establish Vietnam's largest bio-based spandex factory. Notably, this will be the world's first vertically integrated production system for bio-spandex, spanning from raw materials to fibers. On the raw material side, the factory innovatively employs sugarcane fermentation technology, replacing traditional fossil fuels like coal with environmentally friendly sugarcane extracts to produce bio-based BDO. This not only reduces environmental impact at the source, aligning with the global trend of green development, but also lays the foundation for Hyosung Group to enhance its brand image in the high-end eco-friendly materials market.

To ensure the efficient advancement of the project, Hyosung TNC recently entered into a technical collaboration with Geno, a leading U.S. company in sustainable materials and technology, securing the licensing of GENO™BDO technology. Leveraging Geno's mature and advanced technology, Hyosung TNC is confident in achieving the production and sales target of 50,000 tons of bio-based BDO annually by the first half of 2026. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon of Hyosung Group stated, "The transition from traditional fossil-based raw materials to eco-friendly raw materials in bio-based businesses will become the core pillar of Hyosung's development for the next 100 years. With the bio-based BDO and bio-based spandex production systems, we will fully enter the global sustainable market, further enhancing Hyosung's high-end brand position."

In its overall strategic planning, Hyosung Group has developed a unique "Vietnam semi-finished products + Korea finished products" model. Leveraging Vietnam's relatively lower production costs, the group prioritizes the production of technical fibers, PTMG, and other semi-finished products in Vietnam. These intermediate products are then transported to its factory in Changwon, South Korea, for further processing into high-end spandex, nylon, and other finished goods, which are ultimately exported worldwide. This dual-benefit model not only effectively circumvents certain trade barriers but also significantly enhances product price competitiveness through cost optimization. Additionally, it boosts the production efficiency of the Korean factory, solidifying Vietnam's pivotal role as a hub in Hyosung Group's global supply chain.

In fact, Hyosung Group's investment in Vietnam did not happen overnight. As early as 2007, Hyosung established its first factory in Dong Nai Province, initially focusing on producing inner tubes and tire materials. Since then, the group has continued to increase its investment in Vietnam, expanding its business scope and gradually covering multiple provinces such as Bac Ninh, Quang Nam, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. To date, Hyosung's cumulative investment in Vietnam has reached approximately $4 billion, creating over 9,000 local jobs. For example, at the end of 2021, the group opened a poly...Propylene（PPThe plastic production base and LPG liquefied gas storage facility, with an annual capacity of up to 650,000 tons, have strongly propelled Vietnam to become one of the world's major suppliers of PP raw materials.

In recent years, Xiaoxing Group has gradually shifted its investment direction in Vietnam towards high-tech and sustainable development fields. In July 2023, the company announced plans to invest $1 billion in building a carbon fiber factory in the Phu My 2 Industrial Park in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. In October of the same year, it received preliminary approval from the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Industrial Park Authority to invest $540 million to construct the carbon fiber factory, covering an area of 19.2 hectares. In December, it announced plans to invest an additional $720 million to build a biofiber factory in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. These concentrated investment initiatives not only demonstrate Xiaoxing Group's determination to deepen its presence in Vietnam but also inject strong momentum into the transformation and upgrading of relevant industries in Vietnam and sustainable development.

The Xiaoxing Group has maintained good interaction and cooperation with the Vietnamese government. During a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Xiaoxing Group Chairman Zhao Xianjun, Xiaoxing announced plans to invest an additional $4 billion in Vietnam, focusing on areas such as data centers, high-tech industrial materials, aviation biofuels, and carbon fiber production. Meanwhile, Xiaoxing also invited the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) from the UAE to join as a partner in the investment project in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government responded positively, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh personally promoting tax incentives for high-tech projects undertaken by Xiaoxing and other companies, and suggesting that enterprises prioritize the use of local raw materials to reduce import dependence, achieving a win-win situation of "Made in Vietnam" and enhancing global competitiveness.

Looking to the future, Xiaoxing Group plans to develop Vietnam into a global comprehensive manufacturing base covering four core products: tire cord, elastic fibers, carbon fibers, and more. At the same time, Xiaoxing TNC has set clear sales targets, aiming to increase the proportion of sustainable spandex in its total spandex sales from the current 4% to around 20% by 2030, achieving more than fourfold growth in sales volume. To achieve this goal, Xiaoxing TNC will continue to deepen cooperation with major global customers and chemical brands, launching more functional and sustainable innovative products based on bio-based BDO, leading the development trend of the global sustainable materials market. Xiaoxing Group will also continue to recruit talent in Vietnam, further expand its business scale, and accelerate its journey toward sustainable development, especially in the high-tech field, continuing to write a glorious chapter in the Vietnamese market.