Viet Nam's Phong Phu Corporation and Japan's Hirose Shokai Company Ltd have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture firm called Linen Supply Services Company Ltd (LSS).

The new company will produce textile products such as cotton towels, pillows, blankets and curtains, and offer high-quality laundry services for five-star hotels and high-class apartments in HCM City and its surrounding areas.
It will be located in the Giang Dien Industrial Zone in the southern province of Dong Nai and will have a total investment of over US$3 million in the first phase. Its factory covers an area of 3,168 square metres and is equipped with modern equipment from Japan. It has a laundry capacity of handling 18 tonnes of material every day.
In the second phase, the project will increase its capacity to 50 tonnes of material per day, mainly serving HCM City and its nearby provinces. It will focus on producing table cloth, uniforms and items for hospitals.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Phong Phu Corporation General Director Pham Xuan Trinh said: "The Japanese firm has cooperated with Phong Phu since 2010, with the first contract's worth being $0.5 million. At the moment, the value of the contract has increased to $3.8 million. I hope that after the joint venture agreement, the cooperation between the two sides will become stronger."
Keitaro Hirose, chairman of the management board of Hirose Shokai Company Ltd said that cooperation with Phong Phu in its investment project in Viet Nam meant that they would work with the Vietnamese company and the textile industry in Viet Nam for a long-term period.
Hirose also hope to spread LSS's presence in many cities in Viet Nam in the future by implementing investment studies in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Nha Trang.
The Phong Phu Corporation, one of the biggest enterprises in the Vietnamese industry, gained a total revenue of nearly VND4,600 billion, or approximately $219 million, in 2013. Its before-tax profit is VND280 billion, or $13.33 million, and the after-tax profit of the shareholders of the parent company is VND227 billion, or $10.8 million.
The Hirose Shokai Company Ltd is a leading trading firm which mainly handles textiles for various applications, with its headquarters in Tokyo.