Vietnam internet company VNG Corp plans to raise $150 million in a US stock market listing, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting two sources.
The news came after Vietnam-based electric car maker VinFast’s recent sterling debut in the US. VinFast’s shares have rocketed after its US debut earlier this month. With 99 percent of the firm controlled by its founder Pham Nhat Vuong, also known as the richest man in Vietnam, the tiny amount of publicly available shares has made the stock prone to volatility, the report added.
VinFast’s share price gains could help to add momentum for other firms in Southeast Asia seeking IPOs in the US, the report added.
Meanwhile, VNG said in a statement that VNG Ltd has filed a Form F-1 registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. VNG Ltd intends to list its Class A ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market through an IPO under the symbol “VNG”.
“The Form F-1 registration statement is subject to completion and has not yet been declared effective by the SEC,” VNG said.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and BofA Securities, Inc. will act as underwriters of the IPO. The size and price range for the potential offering have yet to be determined.
Founded in 2004, VNG, also Vietnam’s first tech unicorn, has evolved from a five-person start-up into the largest homegrown digital ecosystem in Vietnam with products and services ingrained in users’ daily lives. VNG is, according to Newzoo, the number one mobile games publisher in Vietnam looking to expand globally and, according to F&S, operates the number one messaging application, Zalo, in Vietnam, with 75 million monthly active users.
Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, the company’s other flagship products include Zing MP3 (the number one music streaming platform in Vietnam, according to F&S, with more than 28 million monthly active users), and ZaloPay (the fastest growing mobile payment application in Vietnam, according to F&S).
Bloomberg reported in August 2021 that VNG, whose investors include a unit of Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, is said to be considering going public in the US through a reverse merger with a blank-check company.
Quoting people familiar with the matter, the newswire said VNG is working with financial advisers to hold discussions with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) for a potential transaction.
According to Reuters, the company has inked a preliminary agreement in 2017 with US bourse operator NASDAQ to explore an IPO.