Thailand’s Ton Poh Fund invests $11mn in Vietnam’s leading mobile retailer
Thailand’s Ton Poh Fund invests $11mn in Vietnam’s leading mobile retailer
A Thai fund has bought 1.5 million shares in Mobile World Investment Corp (MWG), one of Vietnam’s leading mobile retailers, at a price of more than US$11 million.
The Ton Poh Fund, run by Bangkok-based Ton Poh Capital, officially received the shares from their previous owners, two other foreign funds, on Tuesday, the Vietnam Securities Depository has announced.
MWG is the operator of retail chains The Gioi Di Dong and Dien May Xanh.
According to the Vietnam Securities Depository, CDH Electric Bee Limited has transferred 1 million MWG shares to The Ton Poh Fund, and Dempsey Hill Asia, 500,000 shares to the Thai investor.
The CDH Electric Bee Ltd. had previously announced it would sell 1 million of the 4.72 million shares it owned in MWG.
MWG closed at VND167,500 a share by the end of Tuesday’s trading session, a slight decline from Monday, meaning the Thai fund had spent more than VND250 billion, or US$11.16 million.
An MWG representative said the transfer of shares between foreign investors would not affect the company’s business plans nor policies as the investments did not represent controlling shares.
Another investor, Mekong Enterprise Fund II Ltd, also has plans to reduce its stake in the Vietnamese company from 5.2 percent to 4.55 percent by offering to sell 1 million of its 8 million MWG shares.
Prior to the MWG investment, The Ton Poh Fund had sold 300,000 shares of Superdong-Kien Giang, reducing its stake in the Vietnamese hydrofoil operator to 4.83 percent.
The Thai fund made its debut on Vietnam’s exchange in March 2015, buying 2.5 million shares to hold a 5.92 percent stake in realty trader CotecCons.
