Sapa Group on June 26 signed a deal to expand its operations in Vietnam, pumping an additional US$8 million into its Sapa TBG joint venture with Ben Thanh Group (BTG). The investment package calls for installation of larger presses, additional workshops and ancillary production equipment, raising the company’s aluminum intrusion capacity to 15,000 tonnes per year. At the signing ceremony, Ambassador to Norway Le Thi Tuyet Mai, State Secretary to Minister of Trade and Industry Lars Jocob Hiim congratulated company officials on the joint venture’s achievements. They also expressed their hopes that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which is poised to be signed will strengthen investment and trade relations between the two countries. For his part, BTG Director General Nguyen Quang Tien said that since the Sapa BTG joint venture began operations in December 2010, it has been highly successful, obtaining high growth in sales and profits. In the 2011-2013, its sales volume grew by 9.4% over the previous year and pre-tax profits rose by 38%. Sapa Group’s CEO Svein Tore Holsether in turn said the Group’s expansion in the Asian market reaffirms its leading role in supplying aluminum supplier in the world.                                                                                                                                                                               VOV