Norfund invests US$4M in PET recycling firm in Vietnam

VIETNAM – Norfund has committed US$4 million to Vietnam’s Circular Plastics Company (CPC), strengthening the country’s food-grade PET recycling capacity and advancing regional circular economy goals.

The investment will support the expansion of CPC’s recycling facility located near Ho Chi Minh City.

The plant currently processes post-consumer PET waste into 31,000 metric tonnes of recycled PET (rPET) flakes annually and produces 14,000 metric tonnes of food-grade rPET pellets suitable for packaging applications.

The move comes as Southeast Asia intensifies efforts to address plastic leakage and build domestic recycling infrastructure capable of meeting growing demand for recycled content.

Food-grade PET recycling remains a critical segment, particularly as global beverage and FMCG brands commit to higher recycled content targets in bottles and rigid packaging.

Norway’s Minister of International Development, Åsmund Aukrust, said the investment supports both environmental and economic objectives.

“Scaling industrial PET food-grade recycling in Vietnam contributes to job creation while reducing plastic pollution,” he noted, highlighting the dual impact on employment and waste management.

According to Vegard Benterud, CPC has demonstrated operational reliability by delivering its facilities on time and within budget.

Norfund’s backing signals confidence in the company’s ability to scale responsibly in a market where high-quality rPET demand continues to outpace supply.

Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing packaging markets in Southeast Asia, driven by urbanization, rising consumer demand, and expanding beverage production.

However, plastic waste management remains a major challenge, with significant volumes of PET bottles requiring improved collection and processing systems.

Investments such as Norfund’s are viewed as essential to strengthening local recycling loops and reducing reliance on virgin resin imports.

Owned by the Norwegian government, Norfund manages a committed portfolio of approximately US$3.8 billion across Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Its mandate focuses on sustainable growth, job creation, and environmental impact through private sector investment.

For Vietnam’s packaging value chain, the expansion of CPC’s facility enhances the availability of locally sourced, food-grade recycled PET, an increasingly strategic material as brands respond to regulatory pressures, voluntary sustainability commitments, and evolving consumer expectations around circular packaging solutions.

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