The information was announced at Masan Consumer’s extra-ordinary shareholders’ meeting on the same day, which approved an increase in the number of board members in the 2014-2019 term to six and elected Mr. Truong Cong Thang as Chairman, replacing Mr. Quang.

Mr. Thang was previously CEO of Masan Consumer but resigned for personal reasons. In his six years as CEO, he helped it dominate the FMCG market with three main product lines: spices (Chinsu and Tam Thai Tu), instant noodles (Kokomi and Omachi), and beverages.

The change occurs in the context of a slowdown in the company’s core business. Masan Consumer’s sales fell nearly 17 per cent in the first quarter of this year. In 2016, though revenue grew 4.4 per cent against 2015, pre-tax profit fell nearly 8 per cent. The company has been undergoing a downturn since 2014.

Mr. Quang, 54, was born in central Quang Tri province. He holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and spent a long time studying and living in Eastern Europe.

He remains Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of the Masan Group. He is also a member of the Board at Techcombank and Chairman of the Nui Phao Mining and Mineral Processing Company Limited under Masan Resources. 

The Nui Phao project has appeared in the media in recent times over environmental issues. An inspection of the mine was conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in July last year but its final report is still to be concluded.

The Masan Group was founded in 1996 and is based in Ho Chi Minh City. Its key subsidiaries include Masan Consumer Holdings, Masan Nutri-Science, and Masan Resources, while Techcombank is an associate company. The group was listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in November 2009.  

Masan Consumer officially listed 538.1 million shares at VND90,000 ($4.06) per share on January 5 on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) at the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

VN Economic Times