In recent years, many Vietnamese brands have been acquired by foreign corporations through high-profile M&A deals, spanning retail, consumer goods, food, and pharmaceuticals. Notable examples include Sabeco acquired by ThaiBev, Nhựa Duy Tân and Nhựa Bình Minh by SCG, and Diana Group by Unicharm, signaling a trend of Vietnamese brands falling under foreign ownership.
However, entrepreneur Đặng Văn Thành has bucked this trend with a successful “counter-current” move. He acquired two sugar factories from French investors—Bourbon Tây Ninh and Bourbon Gia Lai—laying the foundation for TTC Sugar to become one of Vietnam’s largest sugar conglomerates.
Acquiring Bourbon Tây Ninh Sugar from French Hands
Bourbon Tây Ninh Sugar Joint Stock Company, originally established in 1995 as Bourbon Tây Ninh Sugar LLC, began with a charter capital of $28.5 million. The French Bourbon Group held 70%, while two Vietnamese partners, Sugar Corporation II and Tây Ninh Sugar Corporation, each held 15%. At its inception, it was Vietnam’s most modern sugar factory, with a strategic advantage in raw material sourcing.
By 1999 and 2000, the French group acquired the Vietnamese partners’ stakes, becoming a 100% foreign-owned entity. In March 2006, it transformed into a joint-stock company, renaming itself Bourbon Tây Ninh Sugar Joint Stock Company with a charter capital of 1.419 trillion VND. In 2008, it listed 44.8 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange under the ticker SBT.
In late 2010, the Bourbon Group divested from SBT, selling its entire stake to Vietnamese partners. The primary buyer was Thành Thành Công Investment Corporation, led by Đặng Văn Thành, acquiring 24.5% of SBT’s issued shares. This marked the beginning of Đặng Văn Thành’s journey to consolidate raw material resources through acquisitions, including Bourbon Tây Ninh, Biên Hòa Sugar, Ninh Hòa Sugar, Phan Rang Sugar, and HAGL Sugar.
A Banking and Sugar Tycoon
Đặng Văn Thành, born in 1960 to a family of Chinese-Vietnamese heritage, is the founder of Sacombank and Thành Thành Công Group. Starting with a production facility for alcohol, CO2, and molasses, he leveraged market opportunities to invest in sugar companies, eventually establishing a sugar distribution network.
Entrepreneur Đặng Văn Thành.
In 2007, he corporatized his enterprises and expanded his investment portfolio, increasing charter capital to 500 billion VND. By 2011, he founded TTC Group, boosting capital to over 3 trillion VND. As of June 30, 2025, TTC Group reported a post-tax profit of nearly 523 billion VND, 5.2 times higher than the previous year. Total assets reached 27.702 trillion VND, with equity of 6.483 trillion VND and liabilities of 21.219 trillion VND, including 1.634 trillion VND in bond debt.
Today, TTC operates in six sectors—agriculture, energy, real estate, industrial real estate, tourism, and education—across Vietnam and countries like Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and Australia, with over 120 subsidiaries.
Four of its subsidiaries are listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange: Thành Thành Công – Biên Hòa (TTC AgriS, ticker: SBT), Gia Lai Electricity (GEC, ticker: GEG), Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate (TTC Land, ticker: SCR), and TTC Hospitality (ticker: VNG). Despite its diversified portfolio, sugar remains TTC’s core business, led by Thành Thành Công – Biên Hòa (TTC AgriS).
Rising to the Sugar Throne
On May 25, 2017, the extraordinary shareholders’ meetings of Thành Thành Công Tây Ninh Sugar (SBT) and Biên Hòa Sugar (BHS) approved a merger. SBT issued 303 million shares to swap for 297 million BHS shares, becoming the sole owner of Biên Hòa Sugar. This increased SBT’s charter capital by up to 3.038 trillion VND.
Post-merger, SBT controlled 49,000 hectares of sugarcane fields, plus additional resources in Laos from acquired companies. The merged entity was renamed Thành Thành Công – Biên Hòa, now TTC AgriS.
Over eight years, the conglomerate has grown significantly. Led by Chairwoman Đặng Huỳnh Ức My, Đặng Văn Thành’s daughter, TTC AgriS has focused on high-tech agriculture and international management standards.
In FY 2024-2025, consolidated revenue reached 28.492 trillion VND, with post-tax profit of 834 billion VND, up 3% YoY. Sugar sales totaled nearly 1.4 million tons.
Thành Thành Công Biên Hòa is Vietnam’s first sugar company with assets exceeding $1 billion and consistent sales above 1 million tons.
Ms. Đặng Huỳnh Ức My, Chairwoman of TTC AgriS.
The company is transitioning to high-tech agriculture, focusing on AgTech, FoodTech, and FinTech. Its 2025-2030 strategy includes multinational expansion, international trade, ESG commitments, global talent development, and a $2.7 billion market cap by 2030.
TTC AgriS is actively investing and acquiring, increasing its stake in Betrimex to over 30% and planning further deals. It aims to expand its product portfolio to over 200 items, targeting 40% of revenue from food and beverages by 2030.
