According to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), Duy Anh Trading Co Ltd, where the IPP Group of Johnathan Hanh Nguyen holds 90 percent of shares, has registered to buy 3 million Sasco shares (SAS) of Southern Airports Services JSC, or 2.21 percent of total capital.

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, president of IPP

The transaction will be made via agreements, slated between August 25 and September 23.

This is good news for Sasco, the non-aviation service enterprise which has experienced tough days during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The SAS price immediately increased by 10.4 percent on August 24 from VND24,000 per share to VND26,500, and increased by another 12.7 percent at the opening of the August 25 trading session to VND29,200 per share.

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, known as the ‘branded-goods king’, has succeeded with his bottom fishing deal at a time when the new outbreak of Covid-19 shows signs of weakening.

As such, just after two trading sessions, SAS price has increased by VND5,200 per share in total (+ 21.7 percent) and its capitalization value rose by VND700 billion.

Sasco is known as the ‘goose that will lay golden eggs’ for Johnathan Hanh Nguyen’s family as it provides services at HCM City's Tan Son Nhat, the largest airport of Vietnam.

Sasco has two big shareholders, including ACV with 49 percent of shares, and a group of shareholders led by Johnathan Hanh Nguyen.

If the deal succeeds, the group of companies of the businessman will hold 47.5 percent of shares in Sasco. He is now chair of Sasco, while his wife, Le Hong Thuy Tien, is a member of the board of directors.

The rapid growth in the number of international passengers has helped Sasco earn big money over many years.

However, it has been facing difficulties since early 2020 because of Covid-19, which led to a 95-97 percent decrease in the number of passengers.

It reported a sharp fall of 92 percent in revenue in Q2 in comparison with the same period last year to VND60 billion, while the profit was just 1/5 of that in Q2 2019. In H1, the profit of the company dropped by 80 percent.

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen is well known in Vietnam as a successful businessman who owns a number of companies, including Au Chau Fashion & Cosmetics Co (ACFC), IPP and Duy Anh Fashion & Cosmetics Co (DAFC).

Not only Sasco, other aviation service companies are also facing difficulties. Middle Airports Services Company (MASCO) reported a net revenue decrease of 80 percent in Q2 to VND13 billion and loss of VND5.8 billion.

Saigon Ground Services JSC has set a post-tax profit of only VND10 billion for 2020, or 97 percent lower than 2019. 

V. Ha

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