On July 26, HOSE announced the mandatory delisting of HNG shares due to the company’s consecutive post-tax losses over the past three years. The losses reported were 1,119 billion VND in 2021, 3,576 billion VND in 2022, and 1,098 billion VND in 2023. In accordance with regulations, HOSE will proceed with the delisting of HNG shares.

HNG has yet to release its financial report for the second quarter of 2024. In the first quarter, the company recorded a 26% decrease in net revenue, resulting in a post-tax loss of 47 billion VND, marking its 13th consecutive quarter of losses.

As of the end of the first quarter 2024, HNG reported an accumulated loss of 8,149 billion VND, reducing its owner's equity to just 2,487 billion VND.

For 2024, HNG has set a revenue target of 694 billion VND, a 14.5% increase from 2023, with an anticipated post-tax loss of 120 billion VND for the year.

Earlier this year, HNG approved a large-scale fruit cultivation and cattle breeding project in Attapeu and Sekong provinces in Laos. The project covers 27,384 hectares with an investment of 18,090 billion VND, including 9,650 billion VND in equity and 8,440 billion VND in loans. The project is planned to be executed from 2024 to 2028 and will operate for 50 years.

HNG will fully contribute its equity portion of 9,650 billion VND through its subsidiary, Nam Lao Agriculture Investment and Production Business Company. The loan amount of 8,440 billion VND will be raised from domestic and international banks and financial institutions.

The project will focus on fruit cultivation (bananas, mangoes, pomelos, durians) and cattle breeding (semi-grazing and fattening cattle), fruit processing, fiber production, and the manufacture of organic fertilizers and biological pesticides.

The project is expected to produce 624,000 tons of fresh fruit annually (including 500,000 tons of bananas, 80,000 tons of pineapples, 18,500 tons of mangoes, 16,000 tons of pomelos, and 9,500 tons of durians). The processed fruit production for export is projected at 25,000 tons annually.

In terms of cattle breeding, the project aims to supply 12,000 breeding cattle and produce 17,000 tons of beef annually.

HNG anticipates annual revenue of 13,500 billion VND (approximately 550 million USD) and profits of 2,450 billion VND (around 100 million USD) from this project, with a profit margin of 18%.

Established in 2010, HAGL Agrico specializes in agriculture for Hoang Anh Gia Lai. In 2021, billionaire Tran Ba Duong acquire HAGL Agrico from chairman Doan Nguyen Duc of HAGL Group.

Duong revealed that Thaco has invested about 8,000 billion VND in restructuring HAGL Agrico, with an additional 12,000 billion VND required for comprehensive restructuring. In 2022, Thaco owned 26.7% of HAGL Agrico's shares and managed the company's entire agricultural operations, covering 36,050 hectares in Laos and Cambodia.

In a recent interview, Tran Ba Duong stated that Thaco has taken over HAGL Agrico's projects in Laos and is committed to large-scale agriculture, aiming for integrated and sustainable operations.

US$1 = VND25,000

Ngoc Cuong