Masan eyes $500 mln international bonds, two-digit revenue growth

Leading Vietnamese conglomerate Masan Group plans to issue international convertible bonds worth up to $500 million to increase its working capital this year, pursuing target revenue growth of 31%.

The group announced at its annual general meeting (AGM) Monday that it targets revenues of VND90-100 trillion ($3.8-4.6 billion) this year, up 18-31% from 2022.

A 5-28% net profit expansion goal is set for this year, said the heavyweight, whose ecosystem includes retail, agriculture, food processing, a coffee and tea chain, international mining, and banking-financial services.

In terms of bonds, Masan Group CEO Danny Le said his corporation was seeking to raise funds from international bond sales to finance its investment activities, boost working capital, and restructure its foreign debts.

The AGM approved Masan’s plans to offer its shares via private placements to strategic investors or professional stock investors, with the maximum total equal to 10% of all existing shares. Proceeds will be used to supplement capital for business activities, make capital contributions to subsidiaries, improve financial capacity, and for M&A purposes.

Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered Masan owns and operates The CrownX, one of the country's biggest retail firms. The integrated retail platform’s 2023 net revenue is expected to range from VND65 trillion to VND72.3 trillion ($2.77 billion - almost $3.1 billion), up 16-29% year-on-year.

The AGM also involved two Masan subsidiaries - Masan Consumer and Masan MeatLife.

Masan Group has an important role to play in the world’s tungsten market because its subsidiary Masan High-Tech Materials (MHT), with German firm H.C. Starck Tungsten Powders under its roof, is one of the world's largest tungsten suppliers.

MHT announced at its AGM last week that it achieved a year-on-year increase of 15% in 2022 thanks to strong demand and pricing for tungsten products. The firm plans to implement the first-ever and largest tungsten recycling plant project in Vietnam servicing the Asian region.

H.C. Starck Tungsten Powders signed deals in July 2022 to invest £45 million ($53.34 million) in the UK-based fast-charging Li-ion battery solutions Nyobolt.

At Monday's Masan Group meeting, Craig Bradshaw, CEO of MHT, said his company was in a position to commercialize its fast-charging electric battery products, which will be used in electric vehicles and robots.

The products go under two trademarks, ‘starck2charge’ and ‘starck2print’, according to MHT.