Bloomberg's exclusive interview with Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong was published on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the inauguration of the VinFast automobile manufacturing plant (June 14, 2019 - June 14, 2024).
Bloomberg published an interview with Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong on the 5th anniversary of the inauguration of the VinFast factory.
Although it only started producing cars more than five years ago, VinFast is now competing with giants like Tesla and Hyundai in the US market. VinFast is also penetrating markets like India and Indonesia.
How long will Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong continue to financially support VinFast? “Until I run out of money,” he affirmed in an interview with Bloomberg TV at Vingroup headquarters in Hanoi .
Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong owns assets of about 5.3 billion USD. He is confident that he can steer VinFast through challenges, despite the difficulties of global giants such as Toyota and Volkswagen.
VinFast listed on the US stock exchange last August, with its share price rising 700% in the first two weeks. Although the share price has since fallen and its float is only about 2%, Pham Nhat Vuong is in no hurry to increase the float.
VinFast's world-leading modern factory in Hai Phong (Photo: Bloomberg)
“We are not concerned about the share price at the moment and are not in a hurry to put more shares on the market. The float ratio does not affect large and long-term investors,” Mr. Vuong explained.
VinFast faces many challenges to become a successful global brand. Chinese electric car manufacturers are pushing to export cheap electric cars and Tesla is cutting prices. VinFast is also facing many challenges in the US.
The electric vehicle industry has also seen many efforts similar to what billionaire Elon Musk has done with Tesla. VinFast delivered 9,689 cars in the first quarter of this year, only about 10% of the total planned plan of 100,000 cars.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Foong said VinFast needs to build its brand and compete with larger rivals. “It won’t be easy to succeed in the U.S. It will take a lot of time and investment,” he said.
Vingroup, its affiliates and financial institutions have provided VinFast with about $12.9 billion from 2017 to March this year. VinFast is building a factory in North Carolina, has broken ground in India and plans to build a factory in Indonesia.
VinFast plans to open more factories in the US, India and Indonesia (Photo: Bloomberg)
Mr. Vuong appears undaunted by any challenge. Every morning he wakes up to play with his grandchildren. “I sleep eight hours a day and have no worries,” he said. “VinFast will soon break even and become self-sufficient.”
Mr. Vuong is the most influential business leader in Vietnam. Vingroup operates in many fields in Vietnam.
Vingroup Chairman affirmed the strong promotion of VinFast to bring Vietnam's manufacturing industry to the international level because: "VinFast is not only a business project, but also a project of dedication." VinFast does not produce cheap cars, but focuses on products with reasonable prices, true to real value.
Regarding plans in the US, Mr. Vuong said that this year's revenue here will increase 30-40 times, and the growth momentum will be maintained for the next 5 years. VinFast's current strategy is to develop a dealer network to increase sales, while implementing direct marketing so that customers can experience the cars themselves.
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