HANOI (Nov 9): Japan's Sojitz Corp has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire a 5% stake in Vietnamese tungsten producer Masan High-Tech Materials, the Vietnamese conglomerate said on Monday.

The stake will be purchased from Masan Group's wholly owned subsidiary, Masan Horizon, at a price no lower than that paid by Pentagon-backed Elmet in its investment in MSR, parent company Masan said in a statement.

In September, Masan High-Tech announced that it would sell a 4.99% stake to Elmet Group in a deal valuing the company at about US$2.5 billion, implying a value of roughly US$125 million for the stake.

The parties aim to sign definitive agreements by the end of the year, subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals, it added.

Sojitz plans to market MSR's tungsten products to Japanese customers in sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, aerospace, energy and automotive manufacturing, according to the statement.

Tungsten, an extremely hard metal used in defence and electronics applications including ammunition and semiconductors, is classified by many countries as a critical mineral.

Masan said it would remain the controlling shareholder of MSR after the transaction.

Jefferies Singapore is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Masan Group.

Shares in Masan High-Tech were trading at 62,000 dong on Monday morning and have risen 165% so far this year, according to LSEG data.

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