Business portfolio of SNB Holdings CEO facing charges over Covid test kit scam

Nguyen Bach Thuy Linh, one of two women arrested Wednesday on charges of influencing Vietnamese ministerial officials to help Viet A Company produce and sell its Covid-19 test kits, is the CEO of a major distributor of branded products in Vietnam.

The Hanoi woman, 45, is the head and a major shareholder of the Hanoi-headquartered SNB Holdings Co., whose core subsidiaries are Soc&Brothers and SNB Distribution.

Soc&Brothers

Soc&Brothers can be abbreviated as SNB in the name of SNB Holdings, and this may show its key role.

Soc&Brothers was established in November 2007 as a distributor of high-quality foreign products for mothers and babies in Vietnam.

Just one year later, it started to distribute Aprica strollers, a high-end Japanese brand. In February 2009 the firm became the sole official Vietnamese distributor of Japanese company Saraya's Arau Baby products.

Other distribution deals followed to put on the Soc&Brothers' shelves such as Japanese products like Kao Group's Merries diapers, LEC baby wipes, and Glico's Icreo milk. The firm is the sole distributor of the first two products, and an official distributor of the third.

Soc&Brothers has also expanded its distribution business to household items and home appliances from Japanese brands such as Pearl, Katoji, and 100 Yen Seria.

Linh, the SNB Holdings CEO, holds a stake of 99.24% in Soc&Brothers, whose current charter capital is VND25 billion ($1.07 million). She is also the firm's legal representative.

Soc&Brothers reported its 2021 net revenue at more than VND183.2 billion ($7.81 million), up nearly 23% over 2020. Its net profit in 2021 was VND3 billion (over $127,800), the lowest in the 2019-2021 period. The net profit recorded in 2019 and 2020 was VND20.4 billion and VND17 billion, respectively.

Its total assets as of December 31, 2021 were VND193.2 billion ($8.23 million), up 49.2% year-on-year. Its liabilities doubled to VND125.2 billion ($5.33 million), equivalent to two thirds of the total capital.

SNB Distribution

Launched in March 2014, the unit was introduced as a distributor and a strategic partner for some of SNB Holdings’ partners including Kao and Glico.

Its business also covers supply chain activities like sourcing, market research and analysis, marketing, distribution, logistics, and customer care. SNB claims it has developed a distribution system in 58 cities and provinces across Vietnam.

SNB’s current charter capital is VND40 billion ($1.7 million). Half of this belongs to Soc&Brothers, and Pham Tan Dat, manager of the Merries brand at the company, holds 2%.

The other 48% belongs to a businesswoman who was one of the founding shareholders of Edufit Group, the owner of the Sakura Montessori preschools and the Dewey schools, formerly known as the Gateway international school system.

In July 2018, SNB and Japanese company Global Kids set up their Vietnam joint venture named Global Kids Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

SNB in July 2019 received an investment certificate to build preschools in Vietnam. The company has also expanded its ecosystem for young families by introducing a retail firm named SMS and an education service firm called SNS Education JSC.

Born after Soc&Brothers, SNB Distribution recorded thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong (VND1,000 billion = $42.61 million) in revenues in the 2019-2021 period.

The company's revenue in 2019, 2020 and 2021 reached VND1,341 billion, VND1,119 billion, and VND799.6 billion ($34.07 million).

SNB Distribution's net profit dropped to several tens of billion dong (VND10 billion = $426,000). Its net profit in 2021 was only VND15 billion - the lowest figure in the period of 2019-2021.

As of December 31, 2021, total assets of SNB Distribution reached VND613 billion ($26.12 million), an increase of more than 17% compared to the beginning of the year. Its liabilities were very high at VND510.5 billion ($21.75 million) (-7.3%), accounting for more than 83% of the company's total capital.

Although the profits of Soc&Brothers and SNB Distribution were only in the range of a few billion to tens of billions of Vietnamese dong (VND10 billion = $426,000) a year, in terms of earnings per share, these are quite positive results.

In 2021 alone, earnings per share (EPS) of Soc&Brothers and SNB Distribution will reach VND1,239 and VND3,755 ($0.16), respectively.

As of December 31, 2021, Soc&Brothers and SNB Distribution recorded accumulated undistributed profits of more than VND52 billion and VND60 billion ($2.56 million), respectively. These are also positive results in view of the charter capital of these two companies is only a few tens of billion dong.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, a former officer at Vietnam Education Publishing House Limited Company, and Nguyen Bach Thuy Linh, CEO of SNB Holdings Co., Ltd., were arrested on January 5 by the Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency (C03). Thuy and Linh are under further investigation for "abusing influence over people with positions and power for personal gains" per the Penal Code.

This is the latest development in the investigation into the case of "violating regulations on management and use of state assets, causing losses and waste; breaching bidding regulations, causing serious consequences; abusing positions and power while performing official duties; giving bribes; and receiving bribes" that occurred at Viet A Company and related units and localities. The case is under the supervision and direction of the Party's Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption.

According to C03, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Bach Thuy Linh influenced leaders of ministries and state agencies to help Viet A Company produce and trade Covid-19 test kits for illicit profits.