VietNamNet Bridge - Well-known in Vietnam as the developer of the CGV cinema network, the CJ Group had unexpectedly joined the competition for shares of Vissan, a food processing company. 

A report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) showed that South Korea leads 62 countries and territories which have foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam with 702 newly licensed projects and 260 additionally invested projects, totaling $6.72 billion, which accounts for 29.6 percent of total FDI capital.

One of the big South Korean investors in Vietnam is CJ, which Is the developer of CGV cinema network. The group has been quietly expanding its business, pouring money into a series of business fields.

CJ set foot in Vietnam in 1998. However, the name only became familiar to Vietnamese in 2014 after it took over Megastar cinema system and renamed it CJ CGV. The group plans to have 30 cinema complexes throughout the country by 2017; it is the Number 1 film distributor.

CJ also spends money on making film. It hopes to obtain a high growth rate of 43 percent in the entertainment sector in 2016, double the growth rate in 2011-2015.

However, this does not mean that CJ ‘sat idle’ in the last years. In fact, it has been deeply rooted in Vietnam’s agricultural production.

Well-known in Vietnam as the developer of the CGV cinema network, the CJ Group had unexpectedly joined the competition for shares of Vissan, a food processing company.

In 1998, when arriving in Vietnam, CJ set up CJ Vina Agri which specializes in making and trading animal feed. CJ now has three factories in Long An, Vinh Long and Hung Yen provinces.

The group obtained impressive growth rate of 86 percent per annum in 2011-2015, while it projects the 71 percent growth rate in 2016. The figures show that the group expects the highest growth rate from the food sector.

CJ now runs four animal feed factories with total investment capital of $200 million in Vietnam. 

Like the enterprises in agricultural production, the South Korean group now focuses on developing its chain in accordance with the 3F model (feed, farm, food).

CJ seems to fulfill the first two Fs – feed and farm, while it strives for the last F by trying to buy Vissan, which owns 130 distribution points throughout the country.

However, CJ could only acquire 4.18 percent of Vissan’s shares at the IPO held in March and was defeated by Masan at the share auction for strategic investors. 

As 14 percent of Vissan’s charter capital has fallen into Masan’s hands, CJ may have to give up Vissan and target another food processing company.

The South Korean conglomerate has also injected money into biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, retail and logistics.


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