After nearly a year, Thang Long Thermal Power - a subsidiary of Geleximco Group - has surprisingly acknowledged a major error, correcting its financial results from profit to loss. This period coincided with the company issuing nearly 1.8 trillion VND (approximately $73 million) in bonds.

On March 20, 2025, Thang Long Thermal Power Joint Stock Company submitted an official document to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), rectifying the financial report published on March 27, 2024, concerning its 2023 financial statements.

The company mistakenly swapped the columns for “previous period” and “reporting period.”

As a result, for the 2023 reporting period, the company recorded a profit of nearly 122 billion VND (around $5 million), which actually reflected the 2022 figure, while the correct figure for 2023 was a loss of more than 528 billion VND (around $21.6 million).

At the end of 2023, the actual owner’s equity decreased to 3.981 trillion VND (about $163 million), but the previous report showed over 4.509 trillion VND (around $184.7 million).

The actual debt-to-equity ratio also worsened to 2.46 times, instead of 2.38 times as stated in the March 27, 2024, report.

Raising bonds amid misinformation

The mistake is considered significant as it occurred just before Thang Long Thermal Power issued two new bond tranches, totaling nearly 1.8 trillion VND (about $73 million) to the domestic market.

Specifically, on August 22, 2024, the company issued bond tranche TLPCH2427001, with a face value of 100 million VND ($4,100) per bond, a 10% interest rate, and a total issuance value of 899.5 billion VND (around $36.8 million), maturing on August 22, 2027.

Subsequently, on September 16, 2024, it issued tranche TLPCH2427002 with 9,000 bonds at the same face value and interest rate, raising an additional 900 billion VND (about $36.9 million), maturing on September 16, 2027.

Both bond tranches are classified as “three no” bonds - non-convertible, unsecured, and without warrants. The custodian organization is An Binh Securities Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Geleximco.

Therefore, these bonds were issued after the company inaccurately reported its financial results, changing from a loss to a profit.

Bond buybacks amid financial instability

Earlier, Thang Long Thermal Power had repurchased part of a previous bond issuance. As of now, the company has three bond tranches in circulation: the two mentioned above and tranche TLPCH2126001, issued on December 30, 2021, with a 5-year term and a total value of 1.125 trillion VND (around $46 million). Of this, 717 billion VND ($29.4 million) has been repurchased, leaving 408 billion VND ($16.7 million) outstanding.

Currently, Thang Long Thermal Power’s total bond liabilities exceed 2.2 trillion VND (about $90.3 million).

Despite repeated partial buybacks of tranche TLPCH2126001, the company managed to repurchase only 717 billion VND ($29.4 million), while in 2024, it issued nearly 1.8 trillion VND ($73 million) amid reporting false financial data.

A struggling power giant

Thang Long Thermal Power, established in 2007, primarily engages in electricity production, transmission, and distribution. The company operates the Thang Long Thermal Power Plant in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam’s first privately-owned thermal power plant, with a designed capacity of 2x300 MW and a total investment of $900 million.

The plant officially connected both units to the power grid in 2018 after three years of construction.

However, the company’s financial performance has been weak recently. According to HNX, in the first half of 2024, Thang Long Thermal Power recorded a post-tax loss of nearly 458 billion VND (around $18.8 million), compared to a loss of more than 528 billion VND ($21.6 million) in the first half of 2023.

The company’s general director is Nguyen Van Anh.

Manh Ha