HAIPHONG: Vietnamese automaker VinFast said on Thursday its Singapore-based holding company had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of the group with US securities regulators, as it plans US$4 billion spending on its first US factory complex.
VinFast, which is a unit of Vietnam's biggest conglomerate Vingroup JSC, said it had not determined the size and price range for the IPO.
"There are options to look at. We are still considering a lot of options," VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy told reporters on the sidelines of an event to showcase the company's new VF8 battery-powered SUV.
The company said last week it had signed a preliminary deal to initially invest $2 billion to build a factory in North Carolina to make electric buses, sport utility vehicles and batteries for electric vehicles.
VinFast is betting big on the US market, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers and startups with electric SUVs and a battery leasing model.
She said the IPO is planned for the second half of this year and is one option to fund the planned North Carolina plant and US expansion.
Sources said a year ago that Vinfast was considering an IPO that could value the company at about $60 billion.
That valuation now looks stretched in current markets, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
"Even the companies that have gone ahead with US IPOs have had a sharp correction in valuations, so that’s a given,” he said.
Outside of North America, VinFast is looking for a plant in Germany, it said in January.
The company became Vietnam's first fully fledged domestic car manufacturer in 2019 and plans to transition to all-electric vehicle production from late 2022.
VinFast said prices for its VF8 SUV started from $41,000 in the United States, which compares to a selling price for a Tesla SUV of around $63,000. VinFast is targeting global electric vehicle sales of 42,000 this year.
