A dispute has been identified as the main cause of Trung Nguyen Corporation’s recent supply interruption of G7 3-in-1 instant coffee on the domestic market.

Le Hoang Diep Thao, second from the left. Photo: Tri Thuc Tre

Early this month, local media quoted some sale agents as reporting that Trung Nguyen, a renowned Vietnamese coffee brand, unexpectedly stopped providing instant coffee products indefinitely.

The suspension was confirmed by Trung Nguyen several days later. In a statement sent to customers and distributors, a representative of the corporation said Trung Nguyen had called off the sale of instant coffee because of production line maintenance.

However, Le Hoang Diep Thao, chairwoman and general director of Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee Co., said her husband Dang Le Nguyen Vu, who is chairman of Trung Nguyen Corporation and board member of Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee Co., had sent out a wrong statement about the matter.

In a statement sent to competent agencies, partners, customers and staff, Thao disclosed an ongoing dispute between the couple at Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee Co. She claimed that pending a court decision on their divorce, Vu dismissed her from her duties at the company.

Thao said her husband’s act is against law. The board of directors of the company has three members - Thao, Vu and a representative of Trung Nguyen Corporation, but Vu alone called meetings to discuss her dismissal.

Furthermore, the charter of Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee Co. does not allow the board of directors to dismiss the chairperson, Thao said in the statement.

Thao petitioned Binh Duong Province’s Department of Planning and Investment to stop allowing for any changes in business registration contents and any leadership changes at Trung Nguyen Instant Coffee Co. Thao now remains the lawful chairperson, general director and legal representative at the firm.

A source from the Binh Duong court told the Daily on December 10 that it started handling the case on November 16. On November 23, the court ordered a ban on changes in business registration contents at the enterprise as a temporary solution to the dispute after weighing Thao’s petition.