VinFast’s volatile stock has an easy, painful fix 30 Aug 2023 Vietnam’s nascent electric-car maker capped a flighty first fortnight on Nasdaq with a 44% fall on Tuesday. Blame its tiny sub-1% free float. Selling new shares would reduce trading swings and raise cash the $107 bln firm will soon need. It requires crashing its zippy valuation.
Vietnam’s Tesla charges itself up for a big fall 16 Aug 2023 VinFast shares leapt 270% on their Nasdaq debut following the group’s $27 bln merger. A cosy shareholding structure boosted the valuation to 16 times its US rival but tycoon Pham Nhat Vuong’s EV maker has teething problems. Outsiders will be exacting when he needs to raise money.
VinFast’s $27 bln SPAC deal belongs in scrapyard 17 Jul 2023 Most of the acquiring blank-cheque company’s investors opted for their money back rather than own the Vietnamese EV maker. The buyer could try to trim the heady valuation. But with the Tesla wannabe’s low US sales and poor reviews, ditching the deal is better than patching it up.
Vietnam’s Tesla debuts with wrong kind of power 15 May 2023 VinFast is going public at a sales multiple seven times its rival. Merging at a $27 bln valuation with casino mogul Lawrence Ho’s SPAC secures it a listing in the US where the electric-vehicle maker is expanding. But it needs funding and an inflated 2021-style deal doesn’t help.
Vietnam’s export prowess turns to excess 13 Mar 2023 Its economy grew 8% last year as companies like Samsung and Foxconn powered an export boom. Now overseas demand is slumping amidst a local credit crunch and a corruption crackdown. Vietnam’s underdeveloped domestic market has left it overexposed to external risks.
Vietnam’s Elon Musk challenger turns heads in 2023 21 Dec 2022 Le Thi Thu Thuy is steering VinFast onto Western roads to race the entrepreneur’s premium marque, Tesla. She’ll have to convince investors in its New York IPO to look past niggles at its powerful parent. It’s a complex route, and puts the former Lehman banker in the spotlight.
Vietnam’s Tesla faces daunting Nasdaq road test 7 Dec 2022 Electric-car maker VinFast has filed for a U.S. IPO. It is unprofitable, has only just gone all-in on battery power, and its dependency on parent Vingroup may be a turnoff, too. The young marque could make a case for a $5 bln valuation, but investors will kick the tires hard.
Vietnam electric car whizz takes ambitious road 9 Feb 2022 Carmaker Vinfast is going all-electric and aims to sell overseas. The strategy combines conglomerate power through parent Vingroup with potential for a faster-than-expected shift to new energy vehicles in Southeast Asia. It maps a decent drive to a mooted $3 bln U.S. listing.
Southeast Asia still loves New York 10 Jan 2022 While U.S.-listed Chinese companies move home, Indonesian and Vietnamese startups are eyeing a berth in the Big Apple. Unlike their northern peers, these hopefuls are starting with home floats. Ensuring IPOs fill local coffers first is good politics and makes financial sense too.
Subpar Asian trade deal shines in splintered world 16 Nov 2020 Fifteen nations accounting for 30% of global GDP will slash tariffs and ease the movement of goods in the region. India’s absence is among the disappointments of the long-awaited pact. Even modest progress counts for a lot considering the sad state of U.S. and UK trade affairs.
Viewsroom: Stock underwriting bonanza, Vietnam 18 Jun 2020 Equity capital markets bankers are having their day in the sun as companies scramble to raise money while central banks pump liquidity into the financial system, Breakingviews editors explain. Plus: Asia columnists Robyn Mak and Una Galani chew over Vietnam’s productive pandemic.
Vietnam can build on its good crisis 17 Jun 2020 The Southeast Asian economy checked Covid-19 and is set to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world this year. It’s already a manufacturing dynamo. As global trade slumps, Vietnam looks like a good destination for companies as they shift supply chains out of China.
Thailand’s capital markets are anything but sick 10 Jan 2020 Central Retail is raising up to $2.7 bln in a record IPO, putting the country on course to be top for new issues in Southeast Asia for a fourth year. As Thai Inc looks abroad for growth, helped by a strong currency, it’s a reminder that the market’s relative maturity has upsides.
Asia’s airports fly far higher than its carriers 5 Nov 2019 Thai Airways’ market value has shrunk by a third this year to $600 mln, and the loss-making airline says it is running out of time. Airports of Thailand, by contrast, is worth $38 bln and is a top performer. It’s a light signal for investors eyeing the region’s travel boom.
The Exchange: The Asianisation of the world 17 Sep 2019 A splintering West and increasingly interconnected East is creating a newly powerful mega-region, according to Parag Khanna, author of “The Future is Asian.” He swung by the Breakingviews office in Hong Kong to break down the economic and geopolitical rationales behind his idea.
Supersize GDP reset will give Vietnam an edge 6 Sep 2019 The $240 bln economy may be a quarter larger than estimated. IMF support with the revision, on the back of a private sector boom, lends credibility. The leap will help Hanoi’s aim of becoming an industrialised nation; it may also help Vietnam better capture trade-war spoils.
Southeast Asia’s politics cloud digital ambitions 14 Sep 2018 The Davos crowd descended on Hanoi this week and talked up ties that could make the 660-mln-person region the next China. Recent moves suggest tech barriers are rising, though. Europe's approach to data would be a better path to cut costs and risks while growing local champions.
MSCI snub is lesser problem for Vietnam 21 Jun 2018 Heightened trade tensions and selling by foreign investors have ended a bull run for the $140 bln stock market. Now leading index compiler MSCI has delayed Vietnam’s promotion from frontier status. Unlike with the external headaches, Hanoi can reform its way out of this one.
Loans and fancy flats play Hanoi’s consumer boom 19 Apr 2018 Vietnam's Techcombank and Vinhomes could raise $3 bln through share sales. The lender looks a tad pricey in a frothy market, and doesn’t boast the impressive market lead of the top luxury developer. Still, both can excite investors in Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy.
Vietnam’s Thatcherism could use an extra push 2 Feb 2018 PV Power is the latest successful privatisation for Asia's fastest growing economy. Despite a broad anti-graft campaign, stake sales are going gangbusters, as is the local stock market. That makes it easy to refrain from enacting deeper reforms, but they'd help sustain momentum.