Unclear future of VinFast and its owner billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong

For a long time, VinGroup’s business activities have only been profitable in the field of real estate, while other business and production sectors have been suffering losses.

As a result, after only a short time, all supporting businesses had to be sold. And VinFast Automobile Company is currently in the same dire situation.

Since the end of July 2023, VinFast automobile company has broken ground and built a factory to assemble electric vehicles and produce batteries for electric cars, in North Carolina, USA. At that time, VinFast committed to selling cars in the US market, despite the challenges and fierce competition in the market.

AP quoted Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, then General Director of VinFast Global, and Vice President of VinGroup, admitted that, so far, VinFast has not been successful, the United States is a “difficult” market. But if VinFast can sell cars to “sophisticated” American customers, it can also succeed in any other market.

Statistics from Motor Intelligence data company show that VinFast only sold 2,009 units in the US, accounting for less than 1% of the total number of electric cars sold by manufacturers in the US market in 2023.

In mid-August 2023, VinFast listed and sold shares to the public for the first time, on the US Nasdaq stock market, through a merger with Blackspade – a blank check company. Having gone through many fluctuations, up to now, VinFast’s stock price is only below $4.0, and is likely to go lower.

Recently, an international news agency said that VinFast is in a state of heavy losses, creating risks for the entire parent corporation, VinGroup. VinFast’s stock price fell to a new low, the lowest ever, at $3.6 when the Nasdaq market in the US closed on the weekend of April 12.

Meanwhile, stock traders in the US believe that stocks with a par value of less than $5 are just “junk stocks.” This is an extremely worrying issue about VinGroup’s financial health.

In the future, where will the par value of VinFast stock price go, when the remaining price could be $1 or $2?

Analysts have emphasized the risks for VinGroup, as VinFast has lost a total of $5.7 billion in the past 3 years. That caused VinGroup’s stock price to drop 38% on the stock market.

What has just been said shows that it is difficult for VinFast to survive on the US stock market. More worryingly, the current context of the electric car market is sluggish, as Chinese electric cars at very cheap prices are also piling up.

In the worldwide stage, in the period from April to September 2023, the number of electric cars sold by VinFast was only 19,562 cars, much lower than the company’s target of 50,000 cars/year.

But VinFast is still facing difficulties in the Vietnamese market, despite efforts to reduce prices. In 2023, VinFast sold 35,000 electric cars, this number only accounts for a very small part of the total capacity of 300,000 vehicles/year of the VinFast factory in Hai Phong.

International news agency said that Pham Nhat Vuong once pledged to invest more in VinFast, if necessary. But this is a strategy that doesn’t make much economic sense. According to him, “If it was just for business and making money, VinGroup’s Board of Directors would not be foolish enough to rush into a difficult field like automobile manufacturing.”

At the same time, he affirmed, “VinGroup decided to create VinFast out of social responsibility and patriotism.” This is clearly a statement with political significance, which shows that the establishment of VinFast had the participation of the Vietnamese state.

Most recently, at the Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand in 2024 (BIMS 2024), data announced by the organizers showed that this was the most successful exhibition in history. In 14 days with a record high number of participating brands and orders received, a total of 53,438 cars were sold or ordered. This number is nearly 1/7 of the total number of cars sold in the Vietnamese market in 2023, which is 369,479 units. Of the total number of cars sold in Bangkok, up to 17,513 are pure electric cars, mainly of the BYD brand of China.

Media of the host country Thailand assessed that VinFast Automobile Company from Vietnam, although attending the exhibition and winning 2 major awards from the Organizing Committee, did not see the number of cars sold or ordered.

What has just been said has made observers worried about the future of VinFast Automobile Company and billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong. According to Facebooker Hoang Dung, “Pham Nhat Vuong will have to go to jail faster than people think.”

 

Tra My – Thoibao.de