Packaging provider Rengo to buy 25% stake in Philippines' leading containerboard material maker



Packaging provider Rengo to buy 25% stake in Philippines' leading containerboard material maker | Rengo, acquisition,

MANILA (From news reports) - Major Japanese paper packaging material producer Rengo Co. will acquire a 25 percent stake in a leading containerboard material maker in the Philippines to tap growing local demand.

The company said Friday it plans to complete the purchase of the new share in United Pulp and Paper Co., a local arm of Thailand's Siam Cement PLC group, in the April-June quarter of this year. A Rengo spokesman declined to comment on the value of the deal.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, Rengo said in a statement.

United Pulp and Paper has an annual output capacity of 230,000 tons and boasts the largest market share in the Southeast Asian country. It posted around 6.5 billion pesos ($127 million) in sales in 2018, the statement said.

The local maker, which is controlled by Thailand's SCG Packaging PLC group, plans to double the capacity by the end of this year, installing a third paper making facility at a plant in Calumpit, Bracan Province, about 50 kilometers north of Manila, it said.

The Osaka-based global maker has 157 factories around the world, including a joint venture with Siam Cement PLC group in Thailand, according to the company.

In the Philippines, it eyes entry into the cardboard box business as the country is seeing remarkable growth in demand for packaging materials, according to the statement.