Currently, when discussing the hottest and most notable economies in ASEAN, "Vietnam" stands out prominently. A key driving force behind this is its demographic structure, particularly its low average age.
The strength of this young generation is not only a robust production base but also comes with a continuously growing middle class purchasing power, making Vietnam a new "treasure trove" where major corporations seek to establish long-term stability.
One of the leading Thai giants, SCG, is among the earliest investors recognizing this potential, having pioneered the Vietnamese market for over 30 years. Today, SCG no longer sees Vietnam merely as an export market.
Instead, it has elevated Vietnam to a "second home," covering over 28 companies, using it as a strategic production base with advantages in cost and logistics to grow alongside the domestic market and serve as a springboard for exporting quality products worldwide.
It is well known that Vietnam’s economy shows outstanding growth potential, ranking as the ASEAN country with the highest GDP growth rate, expanding by as much as 8% in the third quarter of this year.
Data from the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam indicates that in the first nine months of this year, this economic growth was driven by solid infrastructure, primarily domestic consumption over 60%, foreign direct investment 25%, government investment 10%, and exports-imports 5%.
Moreover, demographics are a crucial factor making Vietnam the most attractive market in the region, with a population exceeding 106 million, of which 68% are working-age, and an average age of only 32 years—significantly younger than Thailand’s average age of 43.
This youthful population is not only an important production base but also a modern consumer group eager to spend and quickly adapt to digital technology.
Furthermore, the expansion of the upper-middle-income group is another noteworthy factor, with projections that this segment will grow by 5.5% annually, reaching 56 million people by 2030. This income increase directly influences consumer behavior toward higher-quality products.
Regarding per capita income (GDP per capita), Vietnam aims to become a high-income country by 2045. Last year, per capita income was about 5,000 USD and is expected to rise to 8,500 USD by 2030, an increase of over 60% in just six years, reflecting growing domestic purchasing power and significant opportunities for service and retail sectors.
With such accelerated growth, it is undeniable that these economic drivers will enable Vietnam to reach a size comparable to Thailand’s economy in the future.
Kulchet Tharachun, Director of The Siam Cement Public Company Limited (SCC) in Vietnam, explained the strategic importance of Vietnam, stating that SCG no longer views Vietnam simply as a market but as a "second home," being among the first companies to invest in Vietnam over 30 years ago.
Currently, SCG operates about 28 companies in Vietnam with approximately 50 operational sites across the north, central, and south regions. SCG Vietnam’s performance has been very strong.
SCG’s approach in Vietnam is to serve as a model for developing and growing alongside the market to meet both domestic and export demand, using Vietnam as a cost-advantaged production base, particularly regarding labor and electricity costs, enabling efficient export management combined with Thailand to produce at the lowest cost points.
“Vietnam is a strategic country for SCG, with total investments exceeding 7 billion USD across 28 companies, accounting for 28% of SCG’s total assets.”
Niphon Malichai, CEO and Managing Director of SCG Decor Public Company Limited (SCGD), disclosed that the strategic plan aims to position Vietnam as the second main pillar after Thailand, with the "Prime" business as the key growth engine. Currently, the company’s revenue structure from Vietnam accounts for as much as 21%. SCGD acquired the business in 2012 and has gained deep market understanding over nearly 14 years. Today, Prime is strong with 14 subsidiaries and over 3,000 employees, operating a large surface decoration material production capacity of 80 million square meters per year, comparable to Thailand’s production base and leading the Vietnamese market.
Prime’s operations cover the entire value chain, enabling global competitiveness with distribution channels spanning 138 dealers and over 20,000 retail stores nationwide.
This has led SCGD to rank Vietnam as its top investment destination since listing on the stock exchange in 2023, investing nearly 2 billion baht over the past three years. Despite sales challenges recently, EBITDA continues to grow, reflecting efficient cost management.
Moving forward, SCGD plans to expand its surface decoration materials business primarily into southern Vietnam, after previously focusing on the northern region through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It has allocated about 2 billion baht for future investments.
Additionally, SCGD aims to develop Vietnam as an export hub to more than 24 countries worldwide, including ASEAN and Thailand, leveraging Vietnam’s competitive production costs against China.
Beyond surface materials, SCGD plans to expand its sanitary ware business under the COTTO brand fully into Vietnam, aiming to establish a production base and rapidly increase distributors nationwide.
SCGD has a challenging target to double revenue by 2030, with Vietnam as a key driver in this roadmap, and is financially prepared for further business expansion.
Continued investment in SCG Cement business, advancing low-carbon cement
Wichet Chuchuea, Country Director - Vietnam for Cement and Construction Products,
said Vietnam is a highly advantageous production base for pushing these products into global markets due to its low and competitive production costs. Vietnam’s coastal location provides logistic advantages for exports. Having production bases in both Thailand and Vietnam is a key strength, assuring export customers of stable volume and quality, helping global competitiveness.
Currently, the construction product business has sales around 9 billion baht, expected to grow 1.4 times within five years through capacity expansion and distribution network growth.
The company is committed to continuous investment to capture the growing market, making Vietnam SCG’s second home in the future, having invested over 10 billion baht so far.
It is also studying potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to support future growth.
Vietnam’s economy is expected to continue expanding, with industry and construction growing from accelerated government infrastructure investments, boosting demand for construction materials and cement, especially low-carbon cement in line with government policies.
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