Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong and Vingroup JSC will provide an additional $2.5 billion into the company’s electric-car unit VinFast ahead of its planned US initial public offering.
(Bloomberg) — Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong and Vingroup JSC will provide an additional $2.5 billion into the company’s electric-car unit VinFast ahead of its planned US initial public offering.
Vuong, Vingroup’s founder who in 2019 said he would commit $2 billion of his wealth to VinFast, will personally give $1 billion to VinFast within the next year, according to a statement from Vingroup. The company will provide VinFast a loan of up to five years for $1 billion. Vingroup will also give VinFast $500 million.
“The additional $2.5 billion in funding and loans will create more resources to promote and facilitate VinFast to accelerate development so that it can quickly achieve its growth goals on a global scale,” Vingroup said in the statement.
VinFast is considering launching its US IPO as soon as the second quarter this year, Bloomberg reported in January, citing people familiar with the matter.
The infusion of cash comes as the Vietnamese automaker steps up efforts to crack overseas markets. VinFast, which plans to build a factory in North Carolina, shipped its second batch of EVs to North America April 16 and plans US deliveries of the vehicles to begin in May and to Canada in June. It says it will send its first vehicles to Europe in July.
The arrival of VinFast’s second North America delivery, and first to Canada, comes as the nascent automaker tries to get a foothold in fiercely competitive overseas markets.
Vuong, whose net worth is around $4.1 billion, is the chairman of Vingroup, a conglomerate whose operations include real estate, leisure parks and a university. VinFast was founded by Vuong in 2017, and as of the end of last year, Vingroup, its affiliates and external lenders had pumped about $8.2 billion into VinFast, according to VinFast’s pre-IPO filing.
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Vuong directly owns 18.12% of Vingroup, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Vietnam Investment Group, or VIG, in which Vuong has about a 92% stake, holds 33% of Vingroup.
Vuong doesn’t directly hold any stake in VinFast, but as of Sept. 30, Vingroup owned 51.5% of VinFast, VIG held 33.5% of the company and Asian Star Trading & Investment Ltd. had a 15% stake, according to the filing. Each of these shareholders is majority owned by Vuong.
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