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(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s largest meat producer Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl will accelerate the initial public offering and listing of its biggest offshore unit to fund expansion.
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Controlled by the Chearavanont family, Thailand’s richest, the Bangkok-based company has seen some signs that authorities in Vietnam are beginning to consider the proposed IPO of C.P. Vietnam Corporation after years of inaction, Chief Executive Officer Prasit Boondoungprasert told reporters late Wednesday. The company will kick off the IPO process as soon as it receives authorities’ approval, he said.
Vietnam made up the the largest chunk of the company’s offshore sales last year, about 21% or 122 billion baht ($3.6 billion), according to the company’s presentation. China came in second with a contribution of around 6%.
“Vietnam will become our biggest growth driver for years to come with its strong economic growth and large population,” Prasit said. “The listing in Vietnam will provide new financial resources and also build our recognition in Vietnam.”
CP Foods has boosted its investments in animal feed, farm and foods facilities worldwide amid slowing growth and an aging population in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy. The company has operations in 18 markets from the US, Brazil, Russia to China.
The company swung to a profit of 19.6 billion baht in 2024, from a 5.21 billion baht net loss in the previous year, supported by earnings rebound at its pork businesses in Vietnam and China. The profit was also its highest full-year earnings since 2020, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
It expects total revenue to grow by 5% to 8% in 2025 and to book higher profit on further earnings improvement of overseas operations, especially in Vietnam and China.
US reciprocal tariff plan is unlikely to have much impact on the company’s earnings as it supplies almost all of its meat and food products from its own production facilities in the country, Prasit said. Its US operations contributed to about $700 million of total revenue last year.
The Chearavanont family is Asia’s second-richest with estimated wealth of $42.6 billion, Bloomberg News reported last month. Billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont now leads the family, which controls businesses ranging from convenience stores, hypermarket outlets, properties, automobile to telecommunications.