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Happy boss: Vinfast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy, pictured here in front of an electric SUV in January 2022, took the company public

Photo: STEVE MARCUS / REUTERS

The era of spectacular electric car IPOs actually seemed to be over. This Tuesday, however, the shares of the Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast were traded on the US stock exchange Nasdaq for the first time. And as in the heyday of the electro hype, Vinfast also made its stock market debut via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company – although the Spac IPOs also seemed to be an outdated phenomenon.

The stock opened at $22 in trading, more than double the $10 per share agreed with Vinfast's Spac partner Black Spade Acquisition. Initially, only extremely few shares were traded, and the price even rose to 24 dollars in the meantime – which theoretically valued the carmaker at 55 billion dollars. Vinfast was thus theoretically more valuable than the already established electric rival Rivian (20 billion dollars) – and even more valuable than the traditional American carmaker Ford (48 billion dollars).

The deal did not raise any new capital for the Vietnamese start-up, but chief financial officer David Mansfield said the company is in contact with investors and expects to raise more funds. "We have a number of strategic investors and institutional investors in our sights," he told Reuters. He expects further steps to be taken over the next 18 months. "We don't need more equity, but if an opportunity arises, we will of course take advantage of it while we can."

Vinfast became known in Germany when ex-Opel boss Michael Lohscheller (54) was hired there as CEO in the meantime. However, he gave up the job at the end of 2021, and Le Thi Thu Thuy has been running the company ever since. Under her leadership, Vinfast also wants to sell cars in Germany. However, the market launch was highly chaotic.

In the US, too, sales have started sluggishly. Vinfast has delivered nearly 3000,137 vehicles to North America, but according to S&P Global Mobility, just <> cars had been registered as of June. CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy has now said that the company will change its sales model and switch from direct sales to traditional dealers.

The founder of Vinfast is the richest man in Vietnam, Pham Nhat Vuong (54). His rise began with instant noodles. In 1993 he founded the food company Technocom in Ukraine. In 2000, he moved back to Vietnam, where he built his business into a huge conglomerate called Vingroup: hospitals, schools, tourism, artificial intelligence – the company now employs over 40,000 people. In 2017, he entered the automotive industry and initially focused on combustion engines. He also used old BMW technology and quickly gained a market share of more than 10 percent in Vietnam. In 2021, Vinfast sold over 35,000 cars in its home country. But that wasn't enough for Vuong.

In total, his company is said to have invested around 9 billion dollars in the development of the company and is now fully committed to electric. The founder promised another $2.5 billion to support the manufacturer as recently as April, including $1 billion from his personal fortune. Through his group and affiliated companies, he remains the decisive owner even after the IPO and controls 99 percent of the ordinary shares.

How long the new electro star on the stock market will hold the fabulous valuation is highly questionable. Revenue fell 49 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, and the company posted a net loss of $598 million. In 2022, there was a loss of 2.1 billion dollars at the end. Vinfast has not yet made a profit.

lhy/Reuters