HAGL adds plantations as S’pore listing looms

HANOI - HAGL JSC, a real estate developer that has transformed itself into Vietnam’s biggest listed farmer by acreage, is expanding overseas plantations as it plans to list the agricultural unit in Singapore next year, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

The company will harvest corn in Cambodia and Laos this year, adding to its sugar cane, palm oil and rubber plantations, Chief Executive Officer Nguyen Van Su said. The company is also pursuing deals to sell its rubber to tyre giants Michelin and Bridgestone, he said.

HAGL is focusing on growth in food commodities to meet rising regional demand, Mr Su said. The company plans to list its agriculture business on the Singapore Exchange next year to raise capital for further expansion and meet terms of convertible and non-convertible bond sales to Temasek Holdings and Credit Suisse, he said, without giving a target sum.

The farming division is valued at more than US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion), said Mr Nguyen The Anh, Ho Chi Minh City-based analyst at CIMB Securities in alliance with VNDirect Securities.