TOKYO -- Itochu has increased its ownership of a Vietnam state-owned textile company with an eye toward turning the country into a textile export hub for Europe amid rising labor costs in China.
The Japanese trading house spent about 5 billion yen ($46.9 million) to lift its stake in Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, or Vinatex, to nearly 15%, becoming the second-largest stakeholder after the Vietnamese government. The company already had a roughly 5% interest, acquired in 2015. It is rare for a foreign company to own more than 10% of a state enterprise in Vietnam.
