The annual shareholders meeting of Cau Tre Export Goods Processing JSC on Sunday approved changing the company’s name to CJ Cau Tre Food Joint Stock Company.

The meeting also approved adding to its scope of business a number of industries such as vegetables and fruit processing and preservation, producing cakes and ready-to-eat foods, and food wholesaling.

It doubled the proposed investment in a food processing complex at the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in HCM City’s Nha Be District to VND1.2 trillion (US$52.8 million).

CJ CheilJedang Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, earlier became the largest shareholder in Cau Tre, after gradually buying 71.6 per cent of its stakes.

It became a strategic shareholder last December by buying up 47 per cent of the company’s shares from investment funds. At that time the State-owned Saigon Trading Corporation (Satra) held a 45 per cent stake.

By March CJ increased its ownership to 51.6 per cent.

In April Satra auction 20 per cent of Cau Tre shares, which CJ bought up. After this, Satra only holds 25 per cent of the capital, with the remaining 3 per cent being held by other individuals.

Cầu Tre has a chartered capital of VND117 billion.

The company has a long history since 1982, specialising in frozen seafood and meat and other agricultural products, which were distributed locally and exported to many difficult markets like Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the US.

Last April CJ CheilJedang acquired a 64.9 per cent stake in Minh Dat Food, thought to be the biggest Vietnamese private meatball company.

A CJ Vietnam spokesperson said food is one of the company’s core business sectors, and the deals show that this its long-term plan in Viet Nam. — VNS