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[May 2002]
Russian Based Plant to be Established by Vietnamese Tile Company
VNS reports that the Vietnamese Government has sanctioned in principle the setting up of a US$15 million ceramic tile factory in Russia by Thach Ban Co (TBT). The Ministry of Planning and Investment will license the project once the company establishes that its financial ability is commensurate with requirements.The company has bought a brick factory in Tula in Russia and plans to refurbish it into a tile factory capable of producing 2 million square metres per annum. TBT has been working on the project for around a year and the plant should be able to go into production later in 2002.
Director Nguyen The Cuong said: "The building of factories offshore will play a key role in our growth strategy with domestic demand saturating and part of the 90 million sq.m. per year capacity becoming redundant". It is reported that surveys undertaken by TBT reveal that imported tiles - of similar prices and patterns as those to be made by the company in Russia - retail for 30% to 50% higher in Vietnam, which originally sparked the idea of acquiring a plant overseas.
TBT is a major player in the Vietnamese market and is reported to have turned over VND 633 billion since construction of its home based tile facility in 1995. Apart from strong sales at home, the company already successfully exports to South Korea, Japan and Russia.
ENDS