Rengo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka; President & CEO: Kiyoshi Otsubo) announces that its overseas joint venture company Thai Containers Group Co., Ltd. (Thailand) has signed an agreement to acquire 72% of shares in Tawana Container Co., Ltd., a Thai manufacturer of corrugated packaging.

Tawana Container has a plant inside the Bangpoo Industrial Estate in the province of Samutprakarn, which is close to Bangkok—a location with great demand for corrugated packaging. This acquisition of shares will expand Thai Containers Group's corrugated packaging production bases in Thailand to 11 plants, increase the annual production capacity for corrugated board from 642,000 to 703,000 tons, and further strengthen the Rengo Group's corrugated packaging supply structure.

Last year, demand for corrugated packaging in Thailand was lower than the previous year due to the effects of flooding in the northern part of Bangkok. This year the economy, including reconstruction-related demand, has recovered and the GDP growth rate is forecasted to be 5.5%.* Estimates state that corrugated packaging demand will also grow accordingly.

The corrugated packaging business in Thailand is an important strategic base for the overseas business of the Rengo Group, which aims to be a “General Packaging Industry” (GPI). Rengo will work to further enhance its corrugated packaging supply system in Thailand, where economic growth is predicted in the future as well.