Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast has announced that it expects to start trading on the U.S. stock market as early as next week. The company’s merger with a special purchase acquisition company (SPAC), called Black Spade Acquisition, was approved by shareholders on Thursday. VinFast and Black Spade have issued a joint statement stating that VinFast will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VFS, around August 15.
The SPAC merger will not raise new capital for VinFast, but the company’s founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, has been advocating for a U.S. listing as VinFast seeks to expand in the U.S. market. VinFast is currently building a plant in North Carolina. The merger has valued VinFast at $23 billion.
VinFast’s existing shareholders, including parent company Vingroup and Vuong, will hold 99% of the shares in the company after the merger. VinFast has already shipped around 3,000 electric vehicles (EVs) to the United States from its plant in Haiphong, Vietnam. The company aims to sell up to 50,000 EVs this year and expects to break even by the end of 2024.
Although VinFast has faced competition from established EV manufacturers like Tesla, it believes that the U.S. market offers great potential for growth. By listing on the U.S. stock market, VinFast hopes to further expand its presence and attract more investors. The SPAC merger with Black Spade Acquisition marks the latest trend of EV makers using SPAC deals to go public. However, such deals have faced increased scrutiny from investors and regulators in recent times.