IFC, Sumitomo Forestry Invests in Vietnam’s Forestry Sector, Creating Jobs and Cutting Carbon Emissions

Hanoi, Vietnam - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry Company Limited are co-investing to build a particleboard-processing plant in Vietnam, helping create jobs in the country’s forestry sector and cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.

IFC’s $9 million equity investment in the plant helps boost Vietnam’s wood-furniture manufacturing sector, the third-largest in the world, and benefits about 700 farmers along the wood supply chain. Vietnam’s furniture manufacturing sector faces a shortage in locally sourced particleboard, one of the major wood products used in furniture making, and imports 70 percent of its needs.

With an annual design capacity of 250,000 cubic meters, the plant will be able to produce high-quality particleboard that meets the specifications of major furniture processors. The project also includes the construction of an 11-megawatt biomass-based power plant to supply its energy needs, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

“We are keen to have IFC as a long-term shareholder that can support and advise on environmental and social performance and operational standards that could serve as benchmarks for the Vietnamese wood-panel industry,” said Toshiro Mitsuyoshi, Executive Officer, Overseas Business Department of Sumitomo Forestry.

The plant, owned and operated by Vina Eco Board Company Limited, a joint venture of Sumitomo Forestry Company and Sumitomo Forestry (Singapore) Limited, is located in Long An province, a less-developed region in southern Vietnam.

“The forest product sector is a strategically important sector for IFC, considering its impact on climate change and development,” said Simon Andrews, IFC’s Regional Manager for Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Thailand. “IFC is committed to work with Sumitomo Forestry to promote environmental and social sustainability in the forestry and forest product sectors in Vietnam and other developing countries.”

For more information on Sumitomo Forestry Company, visit www.sfc.jp.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.