Trading firm Itochu will invest in the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), ahead of a potential free-trade agreement that could boost Vietnamese exports, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

Itochu will soon acquire about five per cent of Vinatex's stock for more than 1 billion yen ($9.25 million), making it Japan's first leading non-financial company to buy into a Vietnamese State-owned firm here.

This information was confirmed by Chairman of Vinatex's executive board Tran Quang Nghi in an interaction with Tuoi Tre (Young) Newspaper. He added that Itochu had purchased some Vinatex shares through a normal transaction, not as a strategic shareholder of Vinatex.

As Viet Nam's largest state-owned textile company, Vinatex operates about 200 factories around the country, of which about 30 are involved in sewing garments for Itochu under a contract.

Itochu currently does business with about 100 Vietnamese textile companies. It deals in everything, from the procurement of raw materials to sewing, and supplies suits, shirts and other products to Japan, the United States and Europe. It is the largest Japanese firm in the country's textile industry.

VNS/VNN