Business
What's the first Vietnamese company to IPO in US?
The Vietnamese online gaming and messaging firm VNG Corp is eyeing to list shares on the Nasdaq, US.
It has signed a preliminary agreement with U.S. bourse operator Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) to explore an IPO and officially IPO during the trip of Vietnamese PM to US on May, 2017.
According to Reuters, the agreement, which could see Nasdaq help VNG prepare for the listing, was signed on the sidelines of Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to the United States, the first by a Southeast Asian leader since Donald Trump became U.S. president. Founded in 2004, VNG provides online games, music streaming and messaging applications. VNG forecasts 2017 revenue of US$180 million (S$250 million), an increase as much as 70 per cent from last year, Mr Minh said.
The company's games, including Sky Garden: Farm in Paradise and Dead Target, have shipped to more than 230 countries, according to the company. Its chat app Zalo has more than 70 million users in Vietnam and countries including Myanmar, US, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. Bloomberg reports that VNG, a game developer with investors such as Goldman Sachs, will list on the exchange once it receives approval from the Vietnamese government. Le Hong Minh, the company's founder and CEO, told the news source that the process could take up to two years to complete. "No Vietnamese company has ever filed for an IPO overseas," he shared with the financial site. "We are anticipating it will be a challenging process." Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is currently in the United States on an official visit, met with a Nasdaq executive and Minh in New York City on Monday.
According to Bloomberg, this signals government support for the overseas listing.
Other Vietnamese companies are also eyeing overseas listings. Budget carrier VietJet VJC.HM, which has a market value of $1.7 billion, said in January it has revived plans for an overseas listing.
The company's games, including Sky Garden: Farm in Paradise and Dead Target, have shipped to more than 230 countries, according to the company. Its chat app Zalo has more than 70 million users in Vietnam and countries including Myanmar, US, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. Bloomberg reports that VNG, a game developer with investors such as Goldman Sachs, will list on the exchange once it receives approval from the Vietnamese government. Le Hong Minh, the company's founder and CEO, told the news source that the process could take up to two years to complete. "No Vietnamese company has ever filed for an IPO overseas," he shared with the financial site. "We are anticipating it will be a challenging process." Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is currently in the United States on an official visit, met with a Nasdaq executive and Minh in New York City on Monday.
According to Bloomberg, this signals government support for the overseas listing.
Other Vietnamese companies are also eyeing overseas listings. Budget carrier VietJet VJC.HM, which has a market value of $1.7 billion, said in January it has revived plans for an overseas listing.
