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Ho Chi Minh City, June 29, 2010 – For more than 100 years, DKSH has been helping companies to grow their business in new and existing markets by providing them with all the essential services they need to achieve their expansion goals. DKSH brings products such as fast moving consumer goods, luxury items, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, ingredients, and technology products to Asia, Europe, and the Americas, where it markets, sells, and distributes them.

Dr. Joerg Wolle, President & CEO, DKSH Holding Ltd., said: “Over the past few years, we have completely reshaped the conventional model of traditional trading companies to ensure that we remain an ever more valuable strategic partner for our business associates. The name DKSH reflects our new positioning of being the world's No.1 in Market Expansion Services with a focus on Asia, a distinctive new category of industry that was created by DKSH. With this renaming, DKSH Vietnam will contribute to the ongoing establishment of a unified, global DKSH brand. The DKSH brand implies that the individual country operations such as Vietnam are able to leverage the global synergies available within the DKSH Group to constantly develop and improve their own service portfolios, thereby ultimately offering greater opportunities and value to our business partners.”

DKSH is one of Switzerland’s top 20 companies, reporting a global turnover of over USD 8 billion in 2009, with an established presence in 560 business locations in 35 countries employing 22,000 specialized staff, over 2,500 of whom are working in Vietnam. The company offers a comprehensive package of services across the entire value chain: from sourcing, marketing, sales, distribution and logistics to after-sales services. DKSH provides partners with sound expertise, on-the-ground logistics, and tailor-made services based on a comprehensive network of unique size and depth. It expands its business partners’ access to knowledge, their sourcing base, their revenue opportunities, and their market shares.

Since its establishment in Vietnam back in 1890, DKSH has been a leading player in providing Market Expansion Services for the consumer goods, healthcare, performance materials, and technology industries. Although it is a Swiss company, DKSH’s organization is deeply rooted in the community here. This is because the company is able to draw from a tradition, lasting over a century, of doing business in and with the region. Through its industry expertise and unparalleled experience in offering Market Expansion Services tailored to the specific needs of its business partners, Vietnam has evolved into an important hub within DKSH’s dynamic network.

In this month of June, DKSH broke ground for the new state-of-the-art distribution center in the North, replacing the two existing small distribution centers to ensure capacity for DKSH’s ongoing business expansion. This 12,000 sqm facility upgrade will further strengthen DKSH’s logistics service capabilities and offerings for Business Units Healthcare, Consumer Goods, and Performance Materials and satisfy the growing demands of business partners in Hanoi and surrounding provinces. Moreover, this investment by DKSH will create more than a significant number of additional jobs adding to our current 500 strong existing workforce in the Northern area.

Moreover, Diethelm & Co Technology – the legal entity of Business Unit Technology of DKSH Group in Vietnam – changed the name to DKSH Technology Co Ltd on May 19, 2010, to integrate with the unified and global DKSH brand. Prior to this was another big success of forming a joint venture with Cummins Inc. – one of the leading manufacturers of diesel engines, generator sets, parts and filters under the legal name of Cummins DKSH Vietnam Ltd. Once again, such business cooperation efficiently offers a wider range of products and services to customers in Vietnam.

Claire Burgess, Managing Director of DKSH Vietnam, added: “Diethelm Vietnam was changed to DKSH Vietnam over one year ago. With this change, we actively contributed to the formation of the unified and global DKSH brand. While the assets of Diethelm Vietnam brand remain the same, the new DKSH name means greater opportunities for us as well as for our business partners. We are relentlessly focused on constantly further developing our service offerings in order to become an even more valuable strategic partner for all suppliers and customers. Our investments over the last years are a clear demonstration of DKSH’s commitment to this country. And today, I am very happy to see Diethelm & Co Technology succeeding in integrating into our global DKSH brand under the legal name of DKSH Technology Co Ltd as well.”

For Business Unit Performance Materials, technical sales teams assist their business partners to produce value-added products more efficiently and cost economically. Through the implementation of DKSH proprietary geomapping technology, we aid swine farmers of Vietnam in raising healthier animals more cost effectively through the reliable supply of nutrition and animal health ingredients. This innovative business solution truly differentiates DKSH and its employees from other companies in the market.

Some of the Consumer Goods companies DKSH Vietnam services to expand their products availability and growth include Nestle, Beiersdorf, GSK, Energizer, Fonterra, Cerebos, 3M, and Green Cross. The Business Unit Consumer Goods has a range of new service capabilities to penetrate the modern trade channel through to far-flung retailers in the more remote provinces.

The Business Unit Healthcare continues to refine the business processes to ensure both cost efficiency and effectiveness in reaching as close to the customer as possible to reduce price mark ups of medicines and medical equipment.

Until now, DKSH Vietnam has six offices in Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Danang, and Can Tho while operating six distribution centers and two logistics support centers nationwide. Our new distribution center in the North will serve as a catalyst for further growth of the company in Vietnam, while offering the highest levels of logistics and distribution services. The positive outcome is a wider range of products, broader coverage with faster deliveries, all coupled with cost efficiencies.

Through the name change, DKSH Vietnam will be able to add the strength of a global brand to enhance the wealth of experience and outstanding reputation it has built up over 120 years to the advantage of its business partners. DKSH Vietnam is confident that this name change will enhance its ability to support the dynamic expansion of its business partners, ensure that they benefit fully from the energy and vigor of the DKSH brand, and is committed to further investment and development in and for Vietnam.