South Korea's SK Group buys 16.26% stake in Vietnamese retail giant VinCommerce

It is understood that VinCommerce controls 50% of Vietnam's retail market and operates about 2,300 convenience stores and supermarkets. In December 2019, Vietnam's Masan Group acquired 83.7% of VinCommerce's shares.

SK Group said VinCommerce is expected to grow into an omni-channel operator that combines online and offline businesses like Alibaba and Amazon.

According to a press release from Masan, Masan and SK share the same view on the explosive growth trajectory of modern trade grocery retail (MT) in Vietnam. The market share of grocery retail in Vietnam is expected to increase from 8% to 50%, making Vietnam the fastest growing MT market in Asia Pacific in the next decade.

Woncheol Park , representative director of SK Southeast Asia Investment Co., Ltd., an investment subsidiary of SK Group, reiterated the company’s strong belief in the potential of Vietnam’s online/offline retail industry.

“ We expect VinCommerce to play a vital role in its modernization and we are very proud of the work done by Masan Group to turn around VinCommerce in such a short period of time . We believe VinCommerce will become a national champion in O2O (offline to online) retail in the near future,” Park said.

Its investment in VinCommerce is part of SK’s broader strategy to invest in fast-growing sectors in Vietnam and marks another milestone transaction for SK .

It is reported that VinCommerce achieved EBITDA break-even in the fourth quarter of 2020 and achieved positive EBITDA in the first quarter of 2021.

Commenting on the partnership, VinCommerce CEO Truong Cong Thang said they are pleased that their partner SK Group has validated the company’s turnaround plan.

Thang said: “Our hard work over the past 12 months has laid the foundation for expanding our reach across the country to serve 350 million consumers for their daily essentials.

As VinCommerce continues to deliver on VCM’s promise of “the best fresh food,” it may become the preferred grocery partner for consumers. Masan Group said it plans to use the proceeds from the transaction to strengthen its balance sheet and fund future growth plans.

Cross-border e-commerce market

Southeast Asia