ICI buys Vietnam firm

ICI buys Vietnam firm

LONDON (Reuter): Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries Plc said yesterday it will buy a 70 percent stake in a Vietnamese paints manufacturer, Vina Paint.

The company, Vina Paint, has been operating since November 1992 and will be renamed ICI paints (Vietnam) Ltd.

ICI said in a statement that the value of the purchase is less than one percent of ICI group net assets.

The paints market in Vietnam is small, but growing at 10 percent a year. The factory can produce around five million liters annually and employs 60 staff.

"This value creating acquisition marks yet another milestone in the development of the strategy for ICI paints," said Chew Gaik Hean, chief executive of ICI Paints Asia.