Top Solvent Company Limited, the marketing arm of Thai Oil Public Company Limited, has successful organized the grand opening of its solvent terminal in Haiphong on April 25, 2019. The new Thai investment of VND 300 billion is in DEEP C Haiphong I, a part of DEEP C Industrial Complex, Haiphong City.
The Haiphong terminal of Top Solvent, covering 27,000 sq.m was built to provide high-capacity solvents and chemicals storage tanks with the first phase capacity reaching 50,000 tons per year and later 200,000 tons per year. The project is expected to support economic growth of northern Vietnam in general and Haiphong in particular.
“With more than 20 years of experiences in the production and distribution of chemicals and solvents, Top Solvent Vietnam is proud to be the market leader with more than 50 high quality products that meet stringent standards of verifying solvent and chemical products in accordance with international standards,” Acharee Tiyabhorn, Managing Director, TOP Solvent Co., Ltd. said.
Moreover, Top Solvent Vietnam has established a new laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure the verification of input and output quality to be in line with standards. Together with a troop of facilities including product storage tanks, drum and Intermediate Bulk Container filling station, truck loading gantry, the terminal stands out as one of solvent terminals with highest-standard in the North of Vietnam.
Bruno Jaspaert, General Director, DEEP C Industrial Zones is upbeat about the Thai FDI scenarios in northern Vietnam. “Participation of Thai Oil in the north proves the great potential of the region in economic growth and hence energy demand. This facility surely provides better alternatives and cost competitiveness for manufacturers sourcing chemicals in northern Vietnam.”
The new investment of Thai people is just one example demonstrating Thailand’s interest in the Vietnamese market. “With this remarkable trend, combined with abundant labor, increasing purchasing power, good infrastructure, strategic location and benefits from many FTAs, Vietnam is the largest investment destination for the Thai private sector, both current and new,” Tanee Sangrat, Ambassador of Thailand to Vietnam confirmed.
As of March 2019, Thailand had been the 9th largest investor in Vietnam, with total investments of US$10.4 billion, not including mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures, which would certainly double the total amount of Thai investment.
Therefore, the Ambassador of Thailand to Vietnam believes that the momentum in Thailand-Vietnam relations will continue to rise. The Strengthened Strategic Partnership between the two countries will be further substantiated, especially through the economic relations.
A promising destination
A report on new-generation FDI attraction by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, showed that Vietnam is growing attractive to international investors, especially those wanting to produce goods for export.
Haiphong obviously is one of the provinces and cities leveraging from the new wave of FDI. Last year, it ranked 6th among the most attractive destinations for FDI with more than 110 new projects, worth equivalent to US$724 million. The northern city is outstanding among its neighbors thanks to well-developed infrastructure, abundant and high-skilled workforce, and strategic location.
TOP Solvent Vietnam is the pioneer company importing solvents and chemical products into Vietnam by sea freight. In October 2018, the company has expanded to the north, and Haiphong Terminal signifies the full confidence in Vietnam’s potential. With these facilities, Haiphong terminal is one of the first solvent terminals with high standards in the north of Vietnam.
“Thai Oil is one of the last tenants to join our petrochemical group due to our almost fully occupied petrochemical zone. But we will not stop looking for ways of improving ease of business for our clients,” Bruno Jaspaert, General Director at DEEP C Industrial Zones Vietnam said. This shows huge demand for manufacturing land in Vietnam in general and Haiphong in particular.
“We will continue to invest in jetty infrastructure and operation as well as developing the jetty team. Thai Oil will have our devoted support for the rest of their expanding operation here in DEEP C,” he noted.
This is the 67th project inaugurated in DEEP C Haiphong I Industrial Zone, a part of DEEP C Industrial Complex managed by Belgium group Rent-A-Port. So far DEEP C Haiphong I has attracted 76 projects out of over 100 projects within DEEP C Complex.
Thai Oil Public Company Limited (TOP), established in 1961, is one of the leading integrated refinery and petrochemical companies in Asia Pacific. TOP businesses are structured as an integrated operation of long value chains in order to capture and maximize synergy value covering oil refining, aromatics production, lube base oil production, power generation, marine transportation, petroleum transportation via multi-product pipeline, marine transportation and related business, renewable energy business and its related products, solvent and chemical products business and high-level consultancy service in an area of oil refining and petrochemical technologies concerned with energy-related businesses.
By Thuy Dung
Saigon Times
