South Korea’s SK Group will reportedly divest from Vietnam’s food processing conglomerate Masan and real estate, manufacturing, and hospitality conglomerate Vingroup. Both investments have lost considerable value since SK Group bought into these firms.
Specifically, SK Group bought 205.7 million shares in Vingroup–which trades under the ticker VIC–in 2019 for VND 113,000 or US$4.85 at the time for just shy of US$1 billion. Vingroup shares last traded at VND 41,650 or US$1.64 valuing the firm’s current holding at US$337.4 million. A loss of almost 70 percent.
Likewise, in 2018. SK group bought 109.9 million shares in Masan Group for VND 100,000 or US$4.29 per share for a total of just over US$470 million. Masan, which trades under the ticker MSN, closed at VND 76,200 or US$2.99 Friday valuing the company’s holding at about US$328.6 million. That said, SK Group has reportedly exercised a put option on these shares with negotiations currently underway.
SK Group’s exit from these investments on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange puts it in well known company. BlackRock, for example, announced last week it would liquidate its iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF with stock and holdings in Vietnam’s stock exchanges worth US$119.5. Taiwan’s Fubon ETF has also slowly been shedding its Vietnam stocks. It was reported earlier this week it has net-sold US$95 million of its holdings so far this year.
This also fits more broadly with a shift by foreign traders out of Vietnam’s stock markets, net-selling just over a collective US$1.87 billion worth of stocks since January.
See also: Vietnam’s Foreign Investor Stock Sell-Off: Unpacked 2024