VietNamNet Bridge – Shortly after saying goodbye to Orchid Capital Investment of Richard Chandler, a billionaire, FPT, the Vietnamese biggest technology group, has found a new partner, also a “billionaire” – Singaporean Temasek Holdings.
Orchid Capital Investment unexpectedly transferred 29 million shares it held, or 10.65 percent of total capital of FPT, to other investors.
The value of the deal has been kept secret, but sources say Orchid can earn $60 million from the sale.
Meanwhile, Truong Dinh Anh, a member of the Board of Directors, former CEO of FPT Group, also decided to sell nearly all the FPT shares he held.
The information was considered the bad news for FPT. Vietnam has become one of the most attractive investment destinations in the eye of the billionaire. He has poured money into the leading companies in the fields of technology, consumer goods and healthcare.
Through Orchid investment fund, the billionaire began making investment in FPT in mid-2011, then became the biggest shareholder of FPT with the ownership ratio even higher than that of President Truong Gia Binh, the founder of the technology group.
Orchid Capital also holds 11.14 percent of Masan Group. Meanwhile, in June 2013, the fund unexpectedly spent $99 million to buy 80 percent of stakes of Hoan My hospital.
Therefore, the withdrawal of Orchid Capital has raised a question about the future of the Vietnamese leading technology group.
Orchid Capital Investment declined to say about the reason behind its decision to withdraw capital from FPT. However, analysts believed that the private fund felt disappointed about the investment deal, which could not bring the expected high profits over the last two years.
According to Nhip cau dau tu newspaper, the profit margin Orchid obtained from the investment deal is modest, at 10-20 percent, or 5-10 percent per annum.
While FPT has become no more attractive to Orchid Capital, the technology group is still wonderful in the eyes of other investors. FPT has always been one of the best Vietnamese companies with the ROE always higher than 20 percent.
And the new foreign partner FPT has found is Temasek Holdings, the well-known Singaporean state owned capital investment group, as revealed by Bui Quang Ngoc, the new CEO of FPT, who was appointed to the post several months ago.
Established in 1974, Temasek has been unceasingly expanding its investment activities, pouring capital into the companies in Singapore and many other countries around the globe.
Temasek has invested in some big Vietnamese companies. The budget air carrier Pacific Airlines once appeared in its investment portfolio.
Temasek, through Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH), has invested in Mekong Development Bank (MDB) since 2010, when FFH bought 45 million of MBD shares at VND20,000 per share.
Also in 2010, Temasek bought Hoang Anh Gia Lai group’s shares through Borthbrooks Investments (Mauritus) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary company.
And now, it is a shareholder of FPT. However, its ownership ratio remains unclear.
FPT now cherishes an ambitious development plan. It wants to obtain $2 billion in turnover in the next three years. It strives to be listed among the world’s 500 leading IT firms by 2024.
FPT is planning to “attack” a lot of lucrative markets in the world, including Singapore, where the world’s leading technology groups gather, and Myanmar, a young market.
Compiled by C. V