VinFast discloses the first steps toward its public offering in the U.S

VinFast, a Vietnamese EV manufacturer, is going public in America. Despite being new to the United States, VinFast is not your standard startup. VinFast, a division of Vingroup, the largest corporation in Vietnam, was established in 2017. Meanwhile, they had previously stated that the domestic automaker would switch to manufacturing only electric vehicles in 2019.

VinFast also disclosed its first step toward a public offering for 2023 on December 6, 2022. With the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, it had submitted a registration statement. In March, the company announced plans for a $2 billion manufacturing in North Carolina, with the goal of delivering its first vehicles to American consumers by the end of 2022.

The company is already accepting reservations for the midsize VF8 and the bigger VF9 electric SUVs. The starting prices for the VF8 and VF9 are $57,000 and $76,000, respectively. However, if the buyer chooses a monthly battery subscription, since both can be acquired without batteries, it reduces the upfront cost. The VF8 and VF9 would then start around $42,000 and $57,500. But, without batteries, the cost of the battery subscriptions is $169 for the smaller VF8 and $219 for the bigger VF9.

The lead bankers on the offering are Citigroup Global Markets, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and J.P. Morgan Securities. Once its offering is over, VinFast will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “VFS.”

Although VinFast is well established in its home country, the Vingroup as a whole is still not profitable. In 2021, it lost nearly $1.3 billion, and through the first three quarters of 2022, it lost an additional $1.4 billion.

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