VietNamNet Bridge - The most popular retail brands in Vietnam are falling into the hands of Thai investors.

 More than 1.91 trillion VND (85.1 million USD) in tax was collected in METRO Group’s sale of METRO Cash & Carry Vietnam, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said on January 14.

It is 80 percent possible that Big C will be taken over by investors from Thailand, as Metro Cash & Carry has also been sold to a Thai group, BJC, according to Vu Vinh Phu, chair of the Hanoi Supermarket Association. 

Big C has always been listed among the biggest taxpayers since it began operation in Vietnam 17 years ago, while Metro repeatedly has reported losses. However, this does not mean Big C is more valuable than Metro.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Thai group Berli Jucker’s (BJC) efforts to acquire Metro Vietnam supermarket chain faced opposition from the minority shareholder groups because they fear the financial and legal risks.

 Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam has been required to report its transaction with Thailand’s Berli Jucker Public Company Limited (BJC) to the HCMC Tax Department, a move which is aimed at taxing the asset transfer.

The HCM City Planning and Investment Department, the governing body that has oversight over wholesale chain Metro Cash & Carry, has said that it has not received any official notice from Metro about its ownership transfer to the Thai BJC Group.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese suppliers are worried about their future contracts with Metro Cash & Carry, which has been bought by the Thai company Berli Jucker.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Though revenue has increased by 24 times over the last 12 years and its network expanded to many areas, Metro Cash & Carry has not paid any corporate income tax since the day it entered Vietnam in 2002.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The failure of Metro Cash & Carry, a wholesale brand that achieved resounding success in many countries, except Vietnam, shows that this was not a distribution model suited to Vietnam.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Analysts have warned that once the Metro supermarket falls into the hands of Thai owners, Vietnamese products will be replaced by Thai products.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Metro Cash&Carry has reached an agreement to sell Metro Vietnam to Thailand’s Berli Jucker Group, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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 VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese goods have been exported to many countries, but they still find it easy to enter overseas supermarkets.