KUALA LUMPUR: Leong Hup International Bhd (LHI) has acquired a feedmill in Vietnam including its equipment, machineries and motor vehicles, for RM67.03 million.
The integrated producer of poultry, egg and livestock feed said the acquisition marked its diversification into aquatic feed in Vietnam.
Currently, LHI and its subsidiaries in Vietnam produce a wide range of feed products.
This included those for parent stock chickens, broiler chickens, layer chickens, colour birds, ducks, cattle, goats, swine and quail.
The asset, which currently produces only aquatic feed, has the capacity to produce up to 118,800 tonnes of aquatic feed per annum.
The group plans to enhance its asset’s capacity and begin poultry feed production by the end of 2020.
The production of aquatic feed complements and extends the offerings of the company’s range of feed product offered.
LHI executive director and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Lau Tuang Nguang said Vietnam is one of the group’s burgeoning markets in Southeast Asia.
“We continue to sharpen our focus on expanding our growth in this region. This acquisition presents us with an opportunity to introduce feed products to capture more pockets of the region’s rising protein consumption and enables the group to strengthen our market position in Vietnam, particularly around the southern region,” Lau said in a statement.
It said the group’s latest acquisition is expected to drive its feed sales volume further.
LHI’s Vietnam operation executive director and chief executive officer Datuk Lau Joo Hong said the group had seen exponential growth from its operation there since its establishment in 2007.
“Our Dong Nai feedmill, which commenced operation in January 2019, has made significant contribution as we continue to ramp up production on the back of higher demand.
“Following this acquisition and upon installation of an additional production line for poultry feed, the group’s combined capacity in Vietnam is expected to increase by up to 17.5 per cent, per annum.
“Hence, we expect to derive synergistic benefits in our feed production by way of cost and capital efficiencies,” he added.