According to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), more than 8.26 million shares of F88 Investment Corporation (F88) will begin trading on Vietnam’s UPCoM market on August 8, with a reference price of 634,900 VND per share (about $25). This gives the company an estimated valuation of 5.244 trillion VND, or nearly $200 million.

On social media and investor forums, questions abound about what justifies F88’s lofty share price and whether the valuation is reasonable. While $200 million is significantly higher than the average market cap of about $43 million across 310 listed companies on HNX (as of late June), it’s still well below the $575 million average on HoSE among 389 listed stocks.

F88 plans to first trade on UPCoM and eventually move to HoSE, targeting a $1 billion market cap by 2027. For that to happen, F88 shares would need to exceed 3 million VND each ($120), or the firm would have to raise additional capital and increase the number of outstanding shares.

F88 operates in the consumer finance sector, primarily providing pawn-based loans. In Q2 2025, it recorded revenue of 925 billion VND (up 30% YoY) and pre-tax profit of 189 billion VND, a 3.2x increase from the same period last year.

By the end of June 2025, F88 had 888 active branches and a net loan portfolio exceeding 5.5 trillion VND ($215 million). Its total revenue for H1 2025 reached 1.744 trillion VND ($68 million), up 30% from the same period last year, with cumulative profit of 321 billion VND.

Pawn-based lending accounted for 1.521 trillion VND of H1 revenue, up 28%. Insurance and other revenue streams contributed 199.6 billion VND and 6 billion VND, respectively - up 45% and 360%.

In 2024, F88 turned around its performance with post-tax profit of nearly 362 billion VND ($14 million), compared to a loss of 529 billion VND in 2023. As of year-end 2024, total equity stood at over 1.792 trillion VND, while liabilities totaled more than 3.3 trillion VND.

F88’s share debut comes amid a growing equity market. By the end of June 2025, the HNX hosted 310 listed firms with a total listing value of over 168.6 trillion VND. Its total market capitalization reached more than 355.6 trillion VND, a 1.5% increase from May.

Meanwhile, the HoSE features 640 securities (389 stocks) with a total listed volume of over 181.8 billion units and a market cap exceeding 5.91 quadrillion VND - equivalent to 51.4% of Vietnam’s 2024 GDP.

Manh Ha