HSC Securities purchases 10.6% stake in Vietnamese taxi firm Vinasun

By Quynh Nguyen

June 6, 2018

Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation (HSC) has announced the purchase of 10.6 per cent stake in Vietnamese taxi firm Vinasun (VNS) coinciding with Singapore GIC‘s decision to fully exit its four-year-old investment in the firm.

In a disclosure to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, HSC said, it has purchased 7.2 million shares in Vinasun. HSC was said to have injected about VND104 billion ($4.57 million) to become the major shareholder in the taxi firm.

The 15-year-old-securities firm is now the third-largest shareholder of Vinasun after Chairman Dang Phuoc Thanh (35 per cent) and Southeast Asia focused private equity investor TAEL Partners (18.3 per cent).

HSC’s share purchase in the open market took place when the VNS scrip hit a low in the face of dwindling business prospects with the rise of  ride-hailing players in the region.

From the peak of VND36,000 ($1.58) at the end of 2014, VNS shares now stand at VND14,000 ($0.61), down more than 60 per cent of the market price.

Singapore’s GIC, meanwhile, decided to fully exit its four-year-old investment in Vinasun by selling all its 5.4 million shares, equivalent to a 7.96 per cent stake it held in the taxi firm on May 25. At a price of VND13,900 ($0.6) apiece, GIC divested its holdings for VND75 billion ($3.3 million) at a discount.

Although Vinasun’s management has recently confirmed that the company had overcome the most difficult period since its inception, it still has to reduce targets of revenue and profit of this year.

Established in 2003, Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation provides financial services to individual, institutional, and corporate clients in Vietnam. The company operates brokerage and services, trading, lending, consultancy, and others segments.

Also Read:

Singapore’s GIC divests entire stake in Vietnamese taxi firm Vinasun

Vietnam court suspends proceedings in case between Vinasun and Grab

Vinasun launches taxi app to challenge global players in Vietnam 

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

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