KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Leong Hup International Berhad (LHI), one of the largest fully integrated producers of poultry, egg and livestock feed in Southeast Asia, on March 9 announced it has agreed to acquire a feed mill in Vietnam, including its plant, equipment, machineries and motor vehicles, for approximately $15.8 million.

Strategically located within the Mekong delta region, the acquisition represents the regional integrated poultry operator’s diversification into aquafeed in Vietnam. Currently, LHI and its subsidiaries in Vietnam produce a wide range of feed products, including those for parent stock chickens, broiler chickens, layer chickens, color birds, ducks, cattle, goats, swine and quail.

The asset, which currently produces only aquatic feed, has the capacity to produce up to 118,800 tonnes of aquatic feed per annum, while LHI has plans to enhance the asset’s capacity and begin poultry feed production by the end of 2020.

The production of aquatic feed complements and extends LHI’s range of feed products offered.

“Vietnam is one of the Group’s burgeoning markets in Southeast Asia and we continue to sharpen our focus on expanding our growth in this region,” said Tan Sri Lau Tuang Nguang, executive director and group chief executive officer of LHI. “This acquisition presents us with an opportunity to introduce feed products to capture more pockets of the region’s rising protein consumption and enables the Group to strengthen our market position in Vietnam, particularly around the southern region.”

In its recently announced unaudited consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019, LHI had reported a 15.6% gain in revenue from Vietnam against the same quarter a year ago, led by feed sales volume. The latest acquisition is expected to drive the Group’s feed sales volume further.