By Phuong Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong said on Thursday he planned to invest another $1 billion from his own fortune in Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast and was considering listings for other companies he controls.
Speaking at a shareholders meeting of Vingroup, the conglomerate he chairs and of which he directly owns 18% of the shares, Vuong said he could further expand investments in the loss-making VinFast after he and Vingroup raised $11.4 from the date of incorporation billion into the company. late last year.
“I plan to give VinFast $1 billion out of my own pocket,” he said, without giving a time frame. Vuong is the CEO of VinFast, in which he has a 97% stake through direct ownership and through companies he controls.
“The electric vehicle market will continue to grow and surpass cars with combustion engines. I will not give up on VinFast,” he said.
VinFast’s share price has fallen to $2.5 from an initial August trading price of $10 as the company failed to meet its sales targets last year and continues to report heavy losses.
More than 70% of the 35,000 cars VinFast sold last year went to an electric taxi company, GSM, owned by Vuong, the documents show. Another 10% went to Vingroup and its divisions.
As GSM also faces high costs as it tries to expand in the Vietnamese taxi market and abroad, Vuong said on Thursday he planned to list the taxi company in the international market if conditions allow.
He also said Vingroup is considering launching its Vinpearl hospitality unit this year.
Vingroup last month announced a stake and asset sale worth $1.6 billion in its retail unit Vincom Retail, one of its key profit engines, alongside property subsidiary Vinhomes, which remains profitable but faces a challenging property market.
Vuong said on Thursday that Vingroup had no cash flow problems.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Writing by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Martin Petty and William Mallard)
