VinFast's U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles. ©Vingroup
Asian Tech Press (Dec 6) --Vingroup JSC (VIC), owned by Vietnam's richest man Pham Nhat Vuong, announced this Saturday a restructuring of the contributed capital in its electric vehicle unit VinFast for its U.S. IPO in late 2022.
In a statement released by the company, Vingroup announced that it is transferring its 51.52% stake in VinFast Vietnam to a Singapore subsidiary.
The startup, which plans to head to the U.S., Canada and Europe next year to sell electric SUVs, is working with investment banks to become one of the first Vietnamese companies to list in the U.S. in 2022, with an IPO expected to be completed in the second half of next year.
According to the latest resolution of the board of directors, VinFast Singapore will own 99.9% of VinFast Vietnam after completing the equity transfer, while Vingroup holds 100% of VinFast Singapore.
Bloomberg reported that Vingroup Vice Chairman Le Thi Thu Thuy said in a November interview that the company expected a market capitalization of between $25 billion and $60 billion after the IPO, and aw also in talks with potential investors to raise billions of dollars in bonds or equity to enter the U.S. market.
Thuy also said VinFast has not yet decided to follow the traditional approach of filing for a U.S. IPO or a reverse takeover of SPAC to go public in the United States.
Although VinFast was just founded in 2017, it benefited from the backing of the consortium behind it, and the EV company's first gasoline vehicles were designed by Pininfarina S.p.A and use the BMW 5 Series platform.
The company unveiled its electric SUVs, the VF e35 and VF e36, at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show this November, and plans to take reservations from U.S. consumers in early 2022, with first deliveries by the end of the year.
