Surprise Plans of Billionaire Vingroup and the Big Bet of Mr. Truong Gia Binh, CEO of FPT

Last week's noteworthy business news includes VinFast's adjustment of its car delivery target for this year to 80,000 cars, and the declaration of a bet on FPT's future in AI by Mr. Truong Gia Binh.

"FPT Bets Its Entire Future on AI"

Mr. Truong Gia Binh made this statement during a deep discussion with FPT's top leaders and subsidiary company executives. He expressed that the group will invest all its resources to embark on the biggest "bet" in its history, aiming to become a leading AI enterprise.

Mr. Binh analyzed that AI technology has accelerated the development pace of consulting companies, with some companies reaching a $1 billion valuation in just 3 years, a milestone that took FPT's software 20 years to achieve. He emphasized the need for utmost determination due to the "danger" posed by oneself and expressed expectations for FPT to embark on this new "betting" endeavor.

The FPT Chairman also revealed the largest investment, something FPT has never done before, which is to invest 200 million USD to build an AI Factory in Vietnam. The corporation is currently operating an AI lab in Singapore, in Silicon Valley in the US, and collaborating with world-renowned "masters" such as Yoshua Bengio and Andrew Ng.

Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong's VinFast car company has just announced the delivery of 21,747 electric cars in the first half of this year, marking a 92% growth compared to the same period in 2023.

In the second quarter alone, VinFast delivered 12,058 cars, a significant increase of 24% compared to the first quarter and 26% compared to the same period last year.

Despite the strong sales growth, the company has adjusted its vehicle delivery target to around 80,000 cars this year (compared to the initial target of 100,000 cars), representing a 2.3-fold increase compared to 2023 (34,855 cars).

The car company explained that economic uncertainties and global challenges require a more cautious strategy in the remaining months.

"The adjustment of targets is to ensure sustainable development for VinFast amidst economic fluctuations. The company will focus on a more cautious expansion plan to capitalize on potential markets, optimize cost and resources management, and enhance operational efficiency," VinFast stated.

According to the report from Hanoi Metro Railway Management and Operation Center (Hanoi Metro), the operator of urban railway line 2A, Cát Linh - Hà Đông, in 2023, the line transported over 10.8 million passengers, a 1.1% increase from the plan and a 31.4% increase from 2022. On average, the Cát Linh - Hà Đông line transported over 29,600 passengers per day.

Passenger Revenue and Financial Performance

• Passenger transport revenue in 2023 reached over 74.1 billion VND, a 0.2% increase from the plan and an 11.8% increase from 2022.
• However, daily ticket revenue decreased as the number of passengers visiting and experiencing the line reached saturation. Monthly ticket revenue remained stable and gradually entered a steady state.

Financial Report Insights

• The company's gross revenue in 2023 reached 515.3 billion VND, a 6.64% increase from the previous year.
• Due to high operating costs, the gross profit was only 7.8 billion VND, a decrease of over 51%. The gross profit margin in the past year was 1.51%, a significant decrease from 3.3% in 2022.

Profit and Taxation

• The company achieved a pre-tax profit of 16.38 billion VND, a 5.7-fold increase from 2022. The after-tax profit also increased to 13.1 billion VND.
• The company contributed 3.69 billion VND to the state budget in taxes and other payments.

The total number of workers at Hanoi Metro is 829 people (3 managers, 826 workers), with a total salary fund of 85.11 billion VND (average of 102.7 million VND/person). The average number of workers in the year until 31/12/2023 is 706 people/month. The average monthly salary of workers is approximately 9.9 million VND.

Mr. Do Tien Dung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haxaco Automobile Service Joint Stock Company - announced the registration to sell 700,000 HAX shares to restructure the investment portfolio.

If the transaction is completed, Mr. Dung will reduce the volume of shares held in Haxaco to 18.1 million units, equivalent to 16.82% of the company's charter capital. The transaction is expected to take place from 8/7 to 31/7.

Mr. Do Tien Dung's registration to sell shares recalls his statement at the 2-year-old Annual General Meeting. The media at that time quoted Mr. Dung as saying: "Shareholders who stand with the company in times of distress and difficulty are true shareholders. Shareholders who just want to buy 10 and sell 50, then speculate, pretending to be shareholders, are not shareholders in my definition; they are like stock traders. They are parasites, clinging to the company to profit, they are not shareholders."

Meanwhile, Haxaco's HAX shares have been sharply increasing in the stock market, reaching a peak since April 2022, with the price increasing by nearly 50% compared to the beginning of the year.

Last week, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung announced that he has become a major shareholder of HUT Joint Stock Company (stock code: HUT) since July 2. He has acquired 1.99 million HUT shares, increasing his ownership in Tasco from 43 million shares (equivalent to 4.82% of Tasco's charter capital) to 44.99 million shares (equivalent to 5.04% of Tasco's charter capital).

Following this transaction, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung has become a major shareholder of Tasco, marking the first major shareholder of the organization since the company's business restructuring. Mr. Nguyen Van Dung currently does not hold any position at Tasco.

Tasco has become the largest automobile distributor in Vietnam after acquiring SVC Holdings (a unit holding 11.2% of the automobile distribution market share in Vietnam with 67 showrooms spanning from the North to the South) in September 2023, renaming SVC Holdings to Tasco Auto.

The company owns Volvo automobile distribution companies; owns Savico Hanoi Joint Stock Company, the investor of the 4.6-hectare Savico Megamall at 7-9 Nguyen Van Linh, Long Bien, Hanoi, Toyota Giai Phong, Toyota Long Bien, and several showrooms in northern provinces and cities; and owns Dana Joint Stock Company with distribution showrooms in the Central region.

Most recently, on July 8, Tasco Auto announced the acquisition of 100% of Sweden Auto Limited Liability Company. Sweden Auto is said to be the sole genuine Volvo car importer and distributor in Vietnam with a retail network of 4 Volvo dealerships in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.