The Billionaire’s Bet: Unveiling the $5.4 Billion Petrochemical Complex Revival in Ho Chi Minh City

In mid-July, Mr. Vo Van Minh, Vice Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, worked with the leaders of SCG Group (Thailand) and Long Son Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (LSP) – the investor of the Long Son Petrochemical Complex project in Long Son commune.

At the meeting, Mr. Kulachet Dharachandra, SCG’s Country Director in Vietnam and General Director of LSP, announced that the LSP complex is expected to restart in August.

Closely following this development, SCG of Thailand provided an update on the LSP complex in its report on operations in the first half of this year. SCG stated that the LSP complex is likely to restart in late August or early September, with personnel ready to operate the complex.

SCG also mentioned that one advantage of “reviving” the LSP complex at this time is to benefit from the new import tax rates for polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) into Vietnam.

Specifically, according to Decree 199/2025, which took effect on July 8, the import tax rate for HDPE and LLDPE, the main output products of the LSP complex, will be adjusted to 2%. This is an increase from the previous rate of 0%, but it is still lower than the 10% rate previously proposed by SCG. These products are fundamental to various industries, including packaging, agriculture, electrical equipment, automotive parts, and more.

According to SCG, the tax increase aims to protect Vietnam’s nascent petrochemical industry and ensure long-term sustainability by reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.

How significant is SCG’s business in the Vietnamese market?

In its half-year report, SCG reported a revenue of 249.1 billion baht, a % increase compared to the same period last year. This figure includes 124.7 billion baht in Q2/2025, a 3% decrease.

Thailand, SCG’s home market, contributed the most to its revenue, with 136.7 billion baht, accounting for 55% of the total. Vietnam ranked second with a 9% contribution, equivalent to approximately 22.4 billion baht (over 18 trillion VND). Other significant markets include Indonesia with 7%, China with 4%, and Cambodia with 3%.

The Long Son Petrochemical Complex has a designed capacity of 1.4 million tons of plastic pellets annually, along with various other plastic products. At maximum capacity, the complex is expected to generate $1.5 billion in revenue per year and contribute approximately $150 million to the state budget. However, the complex, which commenced operations on September 30, 2024, had to halt operations after just 15 days. LSP stated that they would resume the refinery project when profit margins improve.

Facing challenges and determined to turn things around, SCG announced in February 2025 that they would invest an additional $500 million to retrofit the plant to use ethane as a new feedstock, either simultaneously or as a replacement for naphtha and propane. The project is expected to be completed in 2.5 years, by the end of 2027.