PAN Group CEO Nguyễn Thị Trà My on Bibica sale: trimming non-core assets to focus on the core business

Recently, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Trà My, General Director of PAN Group, discussed the group’s completion of the transfer of its stake in Bibica. She said some observers view the move as divestment, but PAN sees it as a proactive decision to narrow areas that are no longer the core focus and to concentrate more deeply on what it can do best.

Restructuring to focus on core strengths

Ms. My compared running a business to caring for a tree: “Sometimes you must prune a few branches to nourish the main trunk.” She said PAN’s decision reflects an active restructuring aimed at going longer, even if it requires accepting sacrifices in short-term growth to build a stronger foundation.

According to Ms. My, PAN is directing resources toward the agricultural-agrifood ecosystem, where it can create value from inputs to outputs. The group’s stated direction is to focus on sectors where Vietnam has natural advantages, large market scale, and room to upgrade to higher value—particularly agriculture that creates sustainable value across seeds, cultivation, processing, and branding.

She noted that short-term financial indicators may shrink, but PAN does not aim to maintain a “pretty number” for only one year. The key question, she said, is whether the business becomes healthier, more efficient, and capable of longer-term growth.

Shifting from quantity to quality in agriculture

At the “Vietnam in the new era” discussion during The Year Ahead - Velocity 2026 event by Bloomberg Businessweek Vietnam on April 10, Ms. My said that focusing on yield/quantity in agriculture is an old story. With two-digit growth pressure, she said the approach cannot be “chase quantity at all costs,” and instead must emphasize quality, technology, branding, and adaptability.

She said that with the same capital, the same hectare of rice fields or shrimp ponds, and the same production line, PAN aims to produce higher-yield, higher-value rice and healthier shrimp that are processed and exported to demanding markets—helping bring higher value to the country.

R&D-driven approach and farmer-linked solutions

Ms. My said PAN has pursued a strategy of investing in quality since its early days, including systematic investment in research and development. She emphasized that products must not only meet “great taste,” but also improve resilience to conditions such as saltwater intrusion and heat.

She described PAN’s next step as building proactive sets of solutions. Instead of selling by weight or selling a single seed or product, PAN combines breeding capabilities with a division that researches solutions—positioning the company as a partner to farmers rather than simply selling and leaving.

Ms. My said PAN’s solutions focus on two requirements: reducing carbon emissions and increasing farmers’ income.

Low-emission rice targets and carbon credit economics

PAN is aiming for 100,000 hectares of low-emission rice by 2027-2028, which Ms. My said equates to 200,000 tons of carbon credits. With current pricing of 10–20 USD per credit, she said the implied value is around 300,000–400,000 USD.

She added that in the past two years, the low-emission rice project PAN has implemented in six provinces of the Mekong Delta has reached 50,000 hectares. Ms. My said the group has reduced input costs by 28% alongside a large carbon reduction.

Food security tied to farmer benefits

Ms. My concluded that food security today is not only about having enough rice to eat, but about building a smart, transparent, and sustainable system to feed farmers, land, and the future. “If farmers do not benefit, there will be no real food security,” she said.