Spandex maker Hyosung to expand its plant in Vietnam

Hyosung, a major Korean chemical and materials company, said yesterday that it is enlarging its plant in Vietnam to boost its presence in the global market.

The company, the world’s largest producer of spandex, said that it will invest $60 million into a plant near Ho Chi Minh City to increase its annual capacity to 50,000 tons, up 10,000 tons from the current level. It plans to finish the expansion by the end of September.

The materials producer said that because fashion companies like Victoria’s Secret, Uniqlo and Speedo are moving their production bases to Southeast Asia, it wanted to react fast to grab more opportunities. It said its spandex brand Creora will have a 32 percent global market share once the expansion is complete. Hyosung produced 160,000 tons of spandex last year.