Huy Vietnam Group, owner of the popular restaurant chains Com Express, Mon Hue and Pho Hung, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) next year.
If successful, Huy Vietnam would become the first Vietnamese company to be listed overseas, reports FinanceAsia.
The company, which has already received three rounds of private-equity financing totaling US$65 million, filed the application last month and is hoping to hold its IPO in the spring of 2016. Though there is no word yet on how many shares the company will offer, its overseas listing is expected to raise as much as US$100 million and allow Huy Vietnam's Mon Hue chain to expand to Hanoi as well as other Vietnamese cities.
While Vietnamese companies have not yet entered international stock exchanges in Hong Kong or Singapore, the country's numbers are appealing for investors. With a GDP growth of 6% or more, a large, young population, an emerging middle class and a stable financial system, Huy Vietnam is hoping its IPO will turn the heads of at least a few foreign investors. It may be an ambitious move, but the company's possible entrance onto the HKSE could pay off.
“There's a scarcity value for a Vietnamese company listed in Hong Kong,” one Hong Kong-based banker told FinanceAsia. “They'll stand out.”
This is certainly a deal to watch, however it remains to be seen whether Huy Vietnam's potential entrance onto the HKSE will encourage other Vietnamese companies to follow suit. For the moment, two obstacles remain for most Vietnamese outfits: having the international business savvy to bring foreign investors on board and fulfilling the legal requirements to enter an international stock exchange.
In the case of Huy Vietnam, both Huy Nhat, chairman and CEO, and his co-founder Tran Thi Thanh Tam, have extensive international experience in the food and beverage industry, and the company is domiciled in the Cayman Islands, which is a pre-qualified domicile on the HKSE. For wholly Vietnam-based entities, there would be far more hoops through which to jump when applying for a listing.
Whatever happens, it's worth keeping an eye on Huy Vietnam in the new year.
[Photo via Huy Vietnam]
