Written by Huong Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong said on Thursday he plans to invest another $1 billion of his fortune in Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) maker Vinfast, adding that he The company said it is also considering listing other companies it controls.
Vuong was speaking at a general meeting of conglomerate Vingroup, of which he is chairman and directly owns 18%, after he and Vingroup had pumped $11.4 billion into the company as of November 2016. , said it may further expand its investment in loss-making VinFast. The end of last year.
“I'm going to give $1 billion out of my own pocket to VinFast,” he said, without specifying a timeline. Mr. Vuong is the chief executive officer of VinFast, in which he owns 97% of the direct ownership and also holds his 97% of its shares through companies he controls.
“The electric vehicle market will continue to grow beyond internal combustion engine vehicles. We have no intention of giving up on VinFast,” he said.
VinFast's stock price has fallen to $2.50 from $10 at its initial public offering in August as the company missed last year's sales targets and continues to report heavy losses.
More than 70% of the 35,000 cars VinFast sold last year went to GSM, an electric taxi company owned by Vuong, according to the filing. In addition, he donated 10% to Vingroup and its divisions.
Vuong said on Thursday that the company plans to list the taxi company on international markets if conditions allow, as GSM also faces high costs as it seeks to expand in Vietnam's ride-hailing market and overseas.
He also said Vingroup is considering listing its hospitality arm Vinpearl this year.
Last month, Vingroup announced that it would sell the shares and assets of its retail unit Vincom Retail, one of its main profit drivers, along with its real estate subsidiary Vinhomes, for $1.6 billion. Although Vinhomes remains profitable, it faces a tough real estate market.
Buon said on Thursday that Vingroup does not have any cash flow problems.
(Reporting by Huong Nguyen; Writing by Francesco Guaracio; Editing by Martin Petty and William Mallard)
