Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam –18th January 2012 – Kinh Do Corporation (STX: KDC) and Ezaki Glico Co. Ltd (TYO: 2206 ) today announced that the two parties had officially signed a Subscription Agreement for Ezaki Glico to buy 14,000,000 new shares (approximately 10% of the enlarged share capital) of Kinh Do’s private placement.  As part of the share subscription, KDC and Glico have plans to enter a business alliance that will leverage Glico’s superior product portfolio and development experience in conjunction with KDC’s expansive distribution network and marketing expertise to develop a leading confectionary business in Vietnam. 

 “We are very excited to help materialize Glico’s interest in the Vietnamese market and especially in partnership with KDC,” said Mr. Tran Le Nguyen, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of KDC.  “This partnership helps to validate KDC’s market leadership in confectionary and demonstrate that KDC is the preferred partner for strategic partners.  With the experience and broad product portfolio of Glico, we will be able to take the confectionary business to the next level.  This partnership will see new and innovative products delivered to KDC’s 120,000 network of established retailers.

Mr.Katsuhisa Ezaki, CEO and President of Ezaki Glico commented that, “We have an aggressive plan to expand our overseas business, especially within the Asian region. Through this business alliance with KDC we are looking to leverage their leadership in confectionary products  which has a dominant market and one of the strongest local distribution networks to retailers.  With this, I am sure that we will be able to launch and expand our products in Vietnam to capitalize on one of the fastest growing markets with the third largest population in ASEAN countries.

About Kinh Do Corporation:

Kinh Do Corporation is Vietnam’s leading confectionary company with a diversified portfolio of category leading brands, built over the last 18 years. 

Throughout its history, KDC has built a market leading presence in a wide range of confectionary products such as cakes, buns, moon cakes, snacks, cookies and ice cream.  With the company’s strength in distribution, production, marketing and customer development, Kinh Do aims to continue to maintain its dominant position in confectionary and also leverage the best in market execution to continue to expand into other food product categories.


About Ezaki Glico Co. Ltd:

Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. is a Japanese confectionery & food company which sets its corporate philosophy as “A Wholesome Life in the Best of Taste”. 

Having a 90 year history since its establishment in 1922, Glico has a portfolio of unique and strong branded products such as Glico Caramel, Pocky, Pretz and Collon. With its operations in the confectionery category--chocolates, biscuits, candies and gums, Glico has expanded its business portfolio to include ice cream and other processed foods.

Glico has also expanded its business scope into dairy & beverage products such as yogurts and desert drinks, and also meat products such as hams & sausages through its group of companies.