SINGAPORE (July 5): Agribusiness giants Wilmar International Limited and Bunge Limited on Tuesday announced they are forming a joint venture in Vietnam to leverage both companies’ footprints in Asia.

The three-party joint venture will see NYSE-listed Bunge sell 45% of its equity in its Vietnam crush operations to Wilmar.

Bunge and Wilmar will be equal 45% shareholders, with Vietnam’s leading soybean meal distributor Quang Dung retaining its existing 10% stake in the operations. Quang Dung is also a majority shareholder of Green Feed, a Vietnamese feed milling business.

The joint venture establishes a strategic collaboration between three uniquely positioned leaders in the Vietnamese oil and feed markets, Wilmar and Bunge said in a joint statement.

Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing domestic edible oils markets in Asia, it adds.

The joint venture unlocks growth potential by connecting Bunge’s upstream crushing capabilities to Wilmar’s downstream oil refining and consumer products business, and to Green Feed’s feed milling and marketing activities.

 “Bunge is a natural partner for us. In Vietnam, it is the largest producer of soybean oil and Wilmar is a major buyer of soybean oil,” says Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO of Wilmar. “The soybean meal distribution capabilities of the joint venture also complement Wilmar’s animal feed ingredients business in Vietnam.”

“The collaboration will create increased operating, marketing and logistics synergies across the Vietnam oils and soybean meal value chains, and help us remain a low-cost operator with the highest efficiency possible,” says Bunge CEO Soren Schroder.

Wilmar International closed 0.3% lower at $3.31 on Tuesday.