Vietnamese electric vehicle maker Winfast raises $4 billion

Credit Suisse and Citigroup are paying $4 billion for VinFast so the popular automaker can build a factory in North Carolina, among other things.

Vinfast, one of Vietnam’s largest car manufacturers, is investing heavily An expansion in the US. The car brand wants to compete with established companies and start-ups by selling electric SUVs and introducing battery leasing.

Winfast approached Swiss bank Credit Suisse and US investment bank Citigroup for this. Citi will act as adviser on international payments of roughly the same value, while issuing at least $2 billion in foreign bonds for Swiss service provider Winfast. So VinFast will get about 4 billion dollars. know Reuters.

7,500 jobs for Americans

VinFast was founded in 2017 by Vingroup. The latter company is one of Vietnam’s most valuable companies, with a total market capitalization of around €11.4 billion. Vingroup has stakes in several resort, real estate and retail businesses in the country.

Winfast launched its first car in 2019; One with a conventional combustion engine. Two years later, the company switched completely to the production of electric cars. The company is now developing its first model for overseas markets and dreams of showrooms in the US and Europe.

Winfast has already secured the construction of a factory in the US state of North Carolina. According to the company, the site will cover around 800 hectares and produce 150,000 cars per year. At least 7,500 Americans will be employed there by 2024.

Support from the Biden administration

The deal marks a major breakthrough for WinFast’s Rocky startup. Earlier this year An IPO is postponed till 2023 due to uncertainty in the market.

But the Vietnamese company, meanwhile, was able to win the support of the Biden administration, which would greatly facilitate access to the United States and provide access to US government funds. US officials are keen to bring in WinFast as it is considered an important and fast-growing company in Vietnam. “A recent new example My economic strategy Biden tweeted in March about WinFast’s expansion plans.

VinFast says it will open its first showrooms in California within days, including a flagship store in Santa Monica. The company, meanwhile, is pursuing its IPO through a shell company in Singapore that now owns all of the carmaker’s assets.

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