An Giang province police on Monday simultaneously checked compliance with the law of all transaction points owned by Vietnamese financial services firm F88 in the locality.
F88 operates 20 transaction points across 11 districts and towns in the Mekong Delta province. Two branches serve as head offices: one in Long Xuyen town and one in Chau Phu district.
Police have administratively inspected their observance of security and order requirements as prescribed by the government for conditional business lines; management books, data storage, and business operations; and legal obligations in terms of loan contracts, collaterals, asset deposits, and interest rates.
Functional agencies temporarily seized papers, documents and archived data for further investigation, verification, clarification and handling in accordance with the law.
Similarly, Can Tho province police last Saturday conducted simultaneous inspections of F88's 13 transaction points.
Can Tho and An Giang is the third and fourth locality after Ho Chi Minh City and Soc Trang province where F88 has been subject to inspections. An Giang, Can Tho and Soc Trang are Mekong Delta provinces in southern Vietnam.
HCMC police searched the headquarters of F88 in Go Vap district on March 6 morning on suspicion of property appropriation. According to a HCMC police source, F88, which operates a large-scale lending system, has been accused of threatening borrowers and property appropriation.
In response to the charges, an F88 representative issued a statement saying that authorities were looking into the actions of a single employee.
F88 currently has 800 transaction points, 2,000 employees and is aiming to expand to 1,000 transaction points in all 63 provinces and cities across Vietnam, according to information posted on its website.
On March 2, the company announced it had raised a series C investment of $50 million led by Vietnam-Oman Investment Fund and Mekong Enterprise Fund IV to further expand its distribution network nationwide and its digital business ahead of an initial public offering planned for next year.
“The capital will serve to complete three projects: upgrading information technology systems, expanding points of sale, and improving the quality of human resources,” said F88 chairman and CEO Phung Anh Tuan.
In 2022, F88 received $70 million in international loans, with $60 million from the Hong Kong-headquartered CLSA Capital Partners and $10 million from the London-based Lendable.
It has also partnered with international banks like CIMB Vietnam and Kasikornbank, one of the three largest banks in Thailand, to distribute comprehensive financial products in Vietnam, including mortgages.
F88 has achieved an average annual growth rate in loan balance and total revenue of more than 200%, the firm said, adding it is eyeing an IPO next year if its market capitalization reaches $1 billion.