Japan’s Sumitomo invests in Vietnam’s port operator
Japanese-based Sumitomo Corporation has teamed up with logistics company Suzuyo and a Japanese public-private fund to take a 10 percent stake in Vietnam’s Gemadept SJC, which engages in the port operation and logistics business.
Tokyo (VNA) – Japanese-based Sumitomo Corporation has teamed up withlogistics company Suzuyo and a Japanese public-private fund to take a 10percent stake in Vietnam’s Gemadept JSC, which engages in the port operationand logistics business.
According to the Nikkei Asia Review, Sumitomoprovided more than half of the roughly 4 billion JPY (37 million USD) the teampaid to a local fund for the stake.
With demand for container shipments growing 7 percent annually in Vietnam,Sumitomo plans to build a logistics network connecting plants to ports forseamless export of locally produced goods, the newspaper reported.
It said Gemadept owns six ports in Vietnam, and handled 1.7 million containersfor an over 10 percent market share. Meanwhile, Sumitomo is operating threeindustrial parks in Hanoi’s suburbs, and owning a logistics unit in theSoutheast Asian country.
Sumitomo will develop a smartphone app that will enable truck drivers toreserve loading processes at ports and electronically handle other paperwork.
Currently at Hai Phong port, drivers have towait one to two hours for cargo to be loaded onto ships. Suzuyo has shortenedsuch wait times to an average 12 minutes in Japan, and plans to use theexpertise in Vietnam.
About 14 million container equivalents of goods are shippedin and out of Vietnam annually. With a growth rate of 7 percent, thenumber is expected to reach 23 million by 2025.
"With the US-China trade war, the number of containers handled willincrease further," a Sumitomo source was quoted as saying by AsiaNikkei Review.-VNA
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Cargo uploaded at a Vietnamese port (Photo: VNA) 
