Vingroup to divest from mall operator Vincom Retail

The board of directors passed a resolution to sell 100% stake in SDI Trading Development and Investment Jsc, which owns a 99% stake in Sado, the biggest shareholder of Vincom Retail with a 41.5% stake.

Vingroup will still directly own a 18.37% stake in Vincom Retail after the sale. It has not disclosed who the buyer is.

The transaction is scheduled to be completed by September end.

Vingroup deputy chairman and CEO Nguyen Viet Quang suggested the rationale for the deal is that the conglomerate now needs to focus all its resources on key brands that have high growth potential.

Its executives have said that electric vehicle manufacturing, done under the VinFast brand, will be one of its top priorities in the coming years.

The sale of Vincom Retail’s shares is not a move to use its land for building residential property projects, he said.

"Malls are built on land registered for commercial services and it is illegal to break them down to build houses instead."

After the stake sale, Vingroup will sign a deal with Vincom Retail to be its operator to ensure all operations of the malls continue as usual and its tenants’ rights are secure.

Vincom Retail posted revenues of VND9.79 trillion ($396 million) last year, up 33% from 2022. Its post-tax profit rose 59% to VND4.41 trillion.

It operates 83 malls in 44 places and plans to open six more this year.