Japanese electrical equipment maker Meidensha Corp. will acquire a 41 percent equity stake in Vietstar Industry Corp., one of Vietnam's top switchboard producers, setting the country as its base for global production of the product.

Under a share purchase agreement signed Wednesday, Meidensha's Singaporean arm, Meiden Asia Pte. Ltd., will buy the equity by March for an undisclosed amount, according to a Meidensha statement released Thursday.

The Tokyo-based firm will make price-competitive Vietnam its "production base for global-standard switchboards," Nobuaki Tamaki, Meidensha's senior managing executive officer, told NNA.

The company will export output in Vietnam via its Thai arm and other channels to countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos as well as meeting local demand, Tamaki said.

The firm expects Vietstar's sales of middle-voltage switchboards, Meidensha's main switchboard product, to increase to 30 to 40 percent of the Vietnamese company's total sales after conclusion of the partnership from the current level of 20 percent or less. Low-voltage switchboards, intended mainly for corporate users, account for more than 80 percent of Vietstar's sales.

Tamaki said he expects demand for electricity in Vietnam will double in the next 10 years.

Established in 2002, Vietstar posted total sales of 1.49 billion yen ($13 million) in 2018, up 28 percent from the previous year. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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