Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) will boost investment in rubber and mining projects to diversify sources of revenue in the coming years rather than relying heavily on property projects.

HAGL Chair Doan Nguyen Due said planting rubber trees as well as exploring ores and producing iron would be the two prioritised investment portfolios which were expected to help the group sustain sources of earnings.

HAGL has set a target of planting 51,000 hectares of rubber by 2012 in Vietnam's Central Highlands region as well as the neighbouring countries Laos and Cambodia. Duc estimated the 51,000 hectares of rubber trees would enable HAGL to turn out 127,500 tonnes of dried latex for export, bringing in annual revenue of over USS380 million. In addition, the rubber trees will yield three million cubic meters of wood to make furniture products with estimated sales of USS430 million.

In the next two years. HAGL plans to exploit and process 60 million tonnes of iron ores in the Central Highlands and the northern province of Thanh Hoa as well as in Laos and Cambodia.

Due said the huge investment capital for projects in the two prioritised areas will come from revenue from its property projects and bank loans. HAGL has 26 property projects in different areas of Vietnam. Another source of revenue will come from 17 hydropower projects with combined electricity generating capacity of 420 megawatts in the Central Highlands, Thanh Hoa and Laos.

HAGL targets pre-tax profits of more than 2.6 trillion dong (some USS136 million) this year, 937 billion dong higher than last year.

(Sourcel Intellasia)