South Korean chaebol SK Group is set to sell nearly 51 million shares of Vingroup, relinquishing its status as a major shareholder.
Vingroup Corporation (VIC), which controls the electric carmaker VinFast among other businesses, announced that SK Investment Vina II, a subsidiary of the SK Group, has registered to sell over 50.8 million shares through negotiated transactions between January 16 and February 14, as part of a strategy to restructure its investment portfolio.
The South Korean conglomerate plans to reduce its stake from 6.05% to 4.72%, a Vingroup filing showed on Friday. The sale is estimated to generate about 508 billion dong ($20.03 million) based on the current market price, it said.
“This share sale by SK is part of a broader strategy to restructure its investment portfolio in international markets. SK remains confident in the growth potential of the Vietnamese market and specifically in Vingroup, which holds leading positions across various business sectors. For Vingroup, SK remains a key partner, and both parties are exploring opportunities for cooperation to maximise future development potential,” stated Nguyen Viet Quang, Vice Chairman and CEO of Vingroup.
“As Vietnam’s economy shows strong recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and gears up for significant growth by 2025, Vingroup is continuously preparing resources, optimally managing cash flow, and leveraging opportunities for capital mobilisation from both domestic and international markets to ensure sustainable development,” he added.
In 2019, the South Korean chip-to-energy conglomerate began its investment in Vingroup by purchasing a 6.1% stake for $1 billion.
Last November, SK completed a sale of around 76 million shares in Vietnam’s Masan group for $200 million.
Both Masan and Vingroup are listed on the stock exchange with market capitalisation of roughly $4.4 billion and $6.3 billion, respectively.
In 2022, replying to a query from DealStreetAsia, SK’s head of Vietnam denied a media report that it was seeking to exit from six companies in Vietnam and one in Malaysia.
The Vietnamese assets included stakes in Vingroup and Masan Group, pharmacy retail chain Pharmacity (14.5% stake), pharmaceutical company Imexpharm (54%), retailer VinCommerce (16.3%), and The CrownX (4.9%)—an integrated commerce platform of Masan.
