ITOCHU Corporation (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and COO: Keita Ishii; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced that, at the Japan-Vietnam Public-Private Forum held in Tokyo on September 4, 2025, in conjunction with the 6^th high level meeting on Japan-Vietnam Agricultural Cooperation, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with THANH THANH CONG - BIEN HOA JOINT STOCK COMPANY (Head Office: Tay Ninh City, Vietnam; CEO: Thai Van Chuyen; hereinafter “TTC AgriS”) for strategic collaboration in the Vietnamese market.

TTC AgriS is one of Vietnam’s leading sugar companies, holding approximately 50% share of the domestic sugar market. The company also handles fresh produce such as bananas and coconuts, and has built a sales network spanning 69 countries. In Vietnam, the sugar consumption is expanding in line with population growth and rising living standards, as essential daily commodity. At the same time, increasing health consciousness and the diversification of lifestyles and preferences are driving greater interest in functional sweeteners.

ITOCHU has long supplied raw sugar materials to TTC AgriS. Under this MOU, the parties agreed to: (i) further strengthen the stable supply of sugar raw materials to TTC AgriS; and (ii) jointly develop and promote the sales of functional sweeteners and ingredients. By combining ITOCHU’s raw material procurement network and advanced capabilities in developing functional sweeteners and ingredients as well as proposing their applications, together with TTC AgriS’s strong consumer touchpoints across Vietnam, the two companies will proactively create value that addresses both Vietnamese consumers’ demand for sweetness and their health needs.

Under its management policy “The Brand-new Deal – Value Lies Downstream,” ITOCHU will continue to accurately capture diversifying needs arising from societal changes and expand its business domains by pioneering and advancing downstream businesses that are closer to consumers.