Nguyen Hoang is selling shares to raise funds, about $150-200 million for each university, according to DealStreetAsia.

Education and training in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, is believed to have positive prospects. However, it has been difficult in recent years to seek capital, both from domestic and international markets.

International mass media in mid-2022 reported that Nguyen Hoang Group planned to sell 10-20 percent of its shares (the business was valued at $1 billion). However, it postponed the plan as prices were lower than expected.

The move to postpone the share selling plan occurred when Vietnam was facing challenges caused by weak global investment and the appreciation of the US dollar. Also, the government of Vietnam had tightened control over corporate bond issuance after wrongdoings were found in a number of cases.

The current situation, however, is different now. The M&A market has become less gloomy and the dollar has, to some extent, cooled down. However, the dong/dollar exchange rate rose rapidly in the first five months of the year, while the corporate bond market remains quiet.

Investments in international and domestic markets have not been prioritized in recent years, since the global financial market has been facing uncertainties amid geopolitical tensions.

Pouring money into the educational sector in Vietnam is seen as a sustainable investment channel with stable cash flow. However, projects in the field require relatively high capital, while the profitability rate is not too high.

Hoa Sen University and Hong Bang International University are two of five universities owned by Nguyen Hoang Group. The other three schools include Gia Dinh University, Ba Ria – Vung Tau University and Mien Dong Innovative Technology University (MIT).

Nguyen Hoang also owns Hoa Sen Junior College, SNA (International School of North America), UK Academy (bilingual school), and iSchool networks, mostly located in the south.

Nguyen Hoang Group (NHG), 25 years old, is known as one of private high-quality education group with the ecosystem from preschool to doctoral training, bilingual and 100 percent international.

The group runs 60 schools in 24 cities/provinces with 75,000 students and 4,500 employees.

Nguyen Hoang took over Hong Bang in 2015 and Hoa Sen in 2018. The latter has 100 partners, including foreign companies and unviersities.

Established as a computer distributor, Nguyen Hoang shifted to educational sector in 2007. It had a chartered capital of VND2 trillion in 2017 and VND3 trillion in 2019.

Manh Ha