Former Vietnamese billionaire to again chair Novaland

Nhon, a former Vietnamese billionaire, said he wanted to return to the Novaland chair because a "businessman needs to face difficulties and challenges," according to a statement issued by Novaland on Wednesday morning.

The company will comply with Vietnamese laws and focus on its expertise to "shine again" and bring happiness to millions of customers, he added.

Nhon left the chair of Novaland to Bui Xuan Huy since January this year to focus on leading NovaGroup, the biggest shareholder in Novaland.

But Novaland has been facing obstacles this year as the world economy is unstable due to wars, inflation and pandemic aftermath. In Vietnam, the tightened credit policy negatively impacted the company’s earnings, it said.

The company therefore is set to seek shareholders' approval to reduce its number of board members to five and vote for new members.

It is working with several consultancies to come up with an exhaust restructuring plan. Laying off staff and reducing expenses are part of its planned efforts to achieve this goal.

Novaland is one of eight subsidiaries of NovaGroup. It posted a revenue of over VND7.9 trillion and post-tax profit of VND2.05 trillion in the first nine months.

Its NVL shares plunged 18 sessions in a row as of last week but has since closed two sessions at ceiling price after NovaGroup said it would sell 150 million shares to increase cash.