Viet Thai International has interests in coffee, including Highlands Coffee chain, as well as finance, construction and retail. The tie-up was announced at the network's regional management meeting in Vietnam.
The JV will see Grey Vietnam expand its offering in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It will be headed up by chief operating officer Sandip Rakhit, who has led other Grey start ups in Asia and was most recently chief of the agency's Bangladesh office. According to Nirvik Singh, chairman and CEO/South Asia and president and CEO Southeast Asia, the JV will see the agency build a 32-strong core team, the majority of which will be based in Ho Chi Minh City, with four in Hanoi, to service BAT and other key clients.
"We've wanted to come to Vietnam for some time," said Singh. "BAT has a strong presence here but we needed a licence to have a full presence and for that a local partner is necessary. David is an entrepreneur we respect and shares the same values as us."
Grey Global Group's offering will include Grey Worldwide and G2.
"We will work with BAT, Procter, Nike, Highland Coffee and others and have staff from Kuala Lumpur and other markets in the region on the team," Singh added.
