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Tag: vinasun

  • Grab, Vinasun to negotiate $1.8 million compensation dispute

    Grab, Vinasun to negotiate $1.8 million compensation dispute

    Top taxi firm Vinasun and ride hailing firm Grab have told the court that they’ll negotiate a compensation dispute. The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Friday approved the litigants’ wish to ‘sit together,’ and temporarily suspended the trial. The suspension of trial is for no longer than a month, and the reopening date will be announced later, the court said.

    “The lawsuit has dragged on for over a year, but the claimant was not able to prove the damage, as well as the causal relationship with Grab’s influence. The defendant is also very worn out wasting time defending a wrong it did not commit,” said Luu Tien Dung, Grab’s lawyer.

    “This is one of the reasons why both sides have decided to negotiate,” he added.

    Vinasun filed the suit against Grab in June last year, accusing the Malaysia-based firm of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

    It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) in losses that it suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

    The trial began last February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab protested the valuation of Vinasun’s losses.

    Last October, prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) in one payment, dismissing Grab’s claim that it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.

    Grab responded by sending a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying that identifying Grab as a taxi firm would be “a step backwards from Industry 4.0.”

    Under the latest draft of a decree prepared by the Transport Ministry, transport firms offering services with under 9-seater cars should be registered as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technologies.

    This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms would have to register their services again as taxi businesses and comply with corresponding legal responsibilities regarding their operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and tax duties.

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  • Taxi firm Vinasun’s profits down by half

    Taxi firm Vinasun’s profits down by half

    Taxi firm Vinasun’s profits plummeted by 58.5% to VND22 billion ($868,000) in the first quarter, a near two-year low, according to a company disclosure.

    The Ho Chi Minh City-based company said profits dropped because it had to spend money on “supporting drivers and partners.”

    Revenues were down 15% to VND278.6 billion.

    The company aims to hire experienced drivers by paying better this year, and buy 700 new cars, mostly Toyota hybrids.

    It plans to study the possibility of using three-wheel electric vehicles.

    It targets revenue of VND1.1 trillion this year, down 9% from last year, and profits of VND80.5 billion, down by half.

    Despite slashing its payroll in recent years the company expects to face challenges to its recovery this year.

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  • Taxi firm Vinasun payroll increases again after 6 years

    Taxi firm Vinasun payroll increases again after 6 years

    Vinasun’s payroll increased by 10% last year, the first time since 2016 hires outnumbered layoffs.

    The leading taxi operator said it had 2,013 employees at the end of last year, 136 more than at the beginning of the year.

    General director Ta Long Hy said the figures do not fully reflect its recovery and expansion level because drivers who sign franchising contracts with the company are not counted as full-time employees.

    “In fact, between April and year-end last year, we recruited around 2,700 drivers,” he said.

    In 2016 Vinasun had the largest market share and payroll – 17,200 – in the taxi industry.

    A year later, when it switched to a franchising model and was affected by the boom in ride-hailing apps, the number fell to 7,100. Since then the number of employees kept decreasing.

    Hy said last year Vinasun adopted many new policies to attract drivers, bought 550 new cars, and launched a luxury service.

    “All of our taxis operated in the last two quarters of last year, while a year earlier half of them remained parked.”

    Last year, Vinasun earned revenues of VND1.1 trillion (US$46.6 million), double the 2021 figure and back to pre-pandemic levels, and pre-tax profits of VND187 billion.

    In 2021, it had incurred losses of VND277 billion.

    The Vinasun share has gained 35% since mid-November last year.

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  • Vinasun’s 2022 profit almost seven times higher than target

    Vinasun’s 2022 profit almost seven times higher than target

    Vietnam’s leading taxi firm Vinasun posted VND185 billion (US$7.89 million) after-tax profit last year, which is 6.8 times higher than targeted.

    The taxi operator recorded profits in all four quarters of 2022 after suffering losses in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    With efforts to recover the market in HCMC and the nearby Binh Duong and Dong Nai Provinces, and look for partnership opportunities in transport, technology and consumption sectors, the company earned revenues worth VND1.089 trillion last year, which is twice the figure of 2021.

    By the end of last year, Vinasun’s total assets were worth VND1.836 trillion, up nearly 20% from the beginning of the year.

    At the closing the session on January 19 before the Lunar New Year break, Vinasun (VNS)’s stock value increased by nearly 6.8%, to VND18,150 per share.

  • Taxi firm Vinasun lays off 2,500 employees

    Taxi firm Vinasun lays off 2,500 employees

    Taxi company Vinasun laid off more than 2,500 employees, including some 1,800 drivers last year with the Covid-19 pandemic causing the business to shrink significantly.

    According to its newly released financial report, Vinasun had 1,877 employees at the end of 2021, down more than 2,500 people against the beginning of the year. It laid off some 1,900 employees in the last quarter alone.

    The recovery of the transport market after the prolonged social distancing was not as fast as expected, resulting in low workload and a large number of cars idling in in parking lots, Vinasun deputy general director Ta Long Hy told VnExpress Saturday, explaining the downsizing,

    “Some people wanted to change jobs, return to their hometowns or were stranded in pandemic-hit areas, which was another contributing factor to the sharp increase in the people leaving their jobs,” he added.

    2021 is the third consecutive year Vinasun has drastically cut its staff. It had laid off approximately 1,000 and 1,400 people in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

    Vinasun recorded revenues of VND484 billion ($21 million) last year, down more than 50 percent against 2020, and made after-tax losses of VND280 billion, nearly four times its original estimate.

    The company has been making losses for two consecutive years and if the situation does not improve this year, its stock may be delisted on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

  • Taxi firm Vinasun revenue plunges 10 times

    Taxi firm Vinasun revenue plunges 10 times

    Taxi firm Vinasun saw its revenue in the third quarter plunge 10 times to VND23 billion ($991,000) as the fourth Covid-19 wave wrecked the transport industry.

    The company posted a loss of VND91 billion, its seventh losing quarter in a row, increasing the chances of being delisted from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

    Months of strict social distancing in HCMC, where the company mostly operates, have caused revenue to plunge due to restrictions on public transport.

    In the first nine months, revenue fell by nearly half year-on-year to VND400 billion. It subsequently recorded a loss of VND188 billion.

    In the next 12 months, the company needs to pay nearly VND100 billion in loans.

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  • Taxi firm Vinasun continues to remain in the red

    Taxi firm Vinasun continues to remain in the red

    Taxi operator Vinasun reported a loss of VND66 billion ($2.87 million) for the second quarter, its sixth consecutive quarterly loss as Covid-19 continued to wreck its business.

    Revenues were VND150 billion, the lowest since the company listed on the stock market in 2008.

    Before the fourth wave of Covid began at the end of April Vinasun had said its financial structure was “stable and healthy” and it hoped to increase market share in the recovering market by investing in 500 new cars to take its fleet size to 3,368 by the end of the year.

    It targeted revenues of VND1.05 trillion this year, up 4 percent from 2020, and expected to reduce its losses to VND79 billion from VND210 billion last year.

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  • Leading taxi firm posts first ever annual loss

    Leading taxi firm posts first ever annual loss

    Vinasun, Vietnam’s second-largest taxi firm, reported its first-ever accumulated loss of VND211 billion ($9.15 million) last year.

    The figure far exceeded the firm’s earlier loss forecast for 2020 at VND115 billion. Vinasun leaders have blamed the loss on the long-lasting impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The company has already laid off over 1,300 employees and taken other earlier measures to reduce operating costs.

    Vietnam’s second-largest taxi firm after the Mai Linh Group, Vinasun reported that its revenues plunged 49 percent year-on-year to VND1 trillion last year.

    The company leadership had said at an annual general meeting in June that 2020 was the most challenging year for the company since its establishment.

    The company shut down most of its operations in April last year when the country began a social distancing campaign to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    As of December 31, it had total assets of over VND2.05 trillion.

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  • Taxi giant lays off 1,300 employees

    Taxi giant lays off 1,300 employees

    Vinasun has cut its staff by 1,300 in the first nine months as it restructures to reduce costs amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The staff cut has lowered the company’s salary costs by 35.5 percent year-on-year to VND80 billion ($3.4 million), saving it VND4.9 billion each month. It now has 4,480 employees.

    However, lower salary costs have not been enough to offset Covid-19 impacts. The firm’s revenue in the first nine months plunged 52 percent year-on-year to VND734.7 billion, with business mostly frozen in April during the nationwide social distancing campaign.

    It has posted a loss of VND185 billion so far this year, compared to a post-tax profit of VND94 billion in the same period last year.

    It forecasts a post-tax loss of VND115 billion this year.

    Company leaders have said they expect the recovery process to be slow due to a lack of foreign visitors. After Vietnam closed its borders and stopped international flights in March, only a few routes have resumed operations

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  • Vietnam prosecutors support Grab appeal against Vinasun

    Vietnam prosecutors support Grab appeal against Vinasun

    Prosecutors in Ho Chi Minh City have appealed a verdict ordering Grab to pay compensation to domestic taxi firm Vinasun. They want the appeal court to quash the order requiring the Singapore ride-hailing firm to pay VND4.8 billion ($206,000) in compensation for alleged losses and reject all of Vinasun’s demands. Grab violated a pilot transport ministry scheme and government decree for ride-hailing services, according to the verdict.

    But the prosecutors argue this is groundless since Grab is a passenger transport firm licensed by competent authorities under the pilot scheme and its activities did not violate the law.

    They also dismiss the contention that Grab had caused Vinasun losses of nearly VND42 billion ($1.81 million) as one-sided with no practical or legal basis since it was based solely on an assessment by the court-appointed Cuu Long Inspection Company.

    “In reality, Vinasun’s decline in revenue involves many factors such as the corporate governance capability and the government’s policies and laws.”

    “Therefore, Vinasun’s demand for compensation from Grab is completely groundless.”

    They say Grab’s business activities are legal and Vinasun’s decline in revenues and profits have been partially due to consumers switching to Grab as they found the ride-hailing firm’s services to be superior to those provided by Vinasun and other traditional taxi firms.

    “Grab did not violate the law, there is no causal link between Grab’s allegedly illegal activities and Vinasun’s losses, Grab is not at fault.”

    Vinasun filed the suit against Grab at the HCMC People’s Court in June 2017, accusing it of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

    The trial began last February, but was adjourned several times before the court last December accepted parts of Vinasun’s demands and ordered Grab to pay the compensation. Grab has appealed.

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  • Grab appeals $208,000 Vinasun compensation ruling

    Grab appeals $208,000 Vinasun compensation ruling

    Grab has appealed a verdict by a Vietnamese court to pay compensation to domestic taxi firm Vinasun for causing it losses. Arguing that the order to pay VND4.8 billion ($208,000) by the first instance court was unlawful, the Singapore-headquartered Grab has asked the appellate court to quash the case. It wants the court to quash the verdict on the ground that the HCMC People’s Court had seriously violated procedures and dismiss the case. The court had no jurisdiction to hear the case, handed a verdict that exceeded the scope of the lawsuit and did not summon the witnesses it had sought, the company said.

    The ride-hailing firm maintained it did not commit any wrong against Vinasun. If the appellate court is not willing to dismiss the case, it should at least amend the earlier ruling, ruling that Grab does not carry on a transportation business and has not violated any laws, and dismissing Vinasun’s claims.

    Grab said the court did not fully and objectively evaluate the facts and evidence of the case, but instead relied on biased information based on an inaccurate assessment of losses done by a court-appointed inspection company.

    “Vinasun could not prove its actual damages and/or the causal link between any of Grab’s alleged violations and Vinasun’s alleged damages,” Grab said in the statement.

    The court verdict came after an 18-month battle between Grab and Vinasun since last June when Vinasun filed a suit saying Grab’s illegal activities had caused it nearly VND42 billion ($1.8 million) in losses.

    The latest draft of a Ministry of Transport decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technology.

    This means Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

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  • Vietnam court orders Grab to pay Vinasun $208,000

    Vietnam court orders Grab to pay Vinasun $208,000

    Grab should pay Vinasun VND4.8 billion ($208,000) for damage it has caused the top taxi firm, a court ruled Friday.

    The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City said in its verdict that Grab had committed many mistakes in its operations in Vietnam, tantamount to unfair competition, which damaged Vinasun’s business.

    Before 2016, Grab had registered almost 300 contract cars in Ho Chi Minh City, which increased to 23,000 by the end of last year. This led to a decrease in the number of active Vinasun cars, causing damage worth VND4.8 billion, the court found.

    By June 2017, Vinasun had provided 1.1 million trips to its customers, while Grab had over 2 million. This shows that the number of Grab cars has continuously increased causing many Vinasun cars to stay unused in parking lots, the court said.

    Grab’s entrance into the Vietnamese market has also lowered Vinasun’s market share, a damage of VND81 billion ($3.49 million).

    Although its entrance has negatively affected Vinasun, the taxi firm could not prove that Grab was the only company to cause this damage, the court said.

    For this reason, the court only required Grab to pay Vinasun the sum of VND4.8 billion for unused cars.

    Change Grab’s status

    The court also proposed that Vietnamese authorities start defining Grab as a transport business.

    Grab has said in many documents to Vietnamese authorities that it is only a technology company and not a transport company. It has also said it only provides electronic transactions and free technology for customers via electronic receipts, which has been approved by the Ministry of Transport.

    But the electronic contracts that Grab mentioned did not confirm to definitions under Vietnam’s Law of Electronic Transactions, the court said.

    It noted that Grab’s contracts did not say who the parties to them were and there were no dispute resolution terms.

    “Grab claims to be a company which provides technology and does not conduct a taxi business nor manage the drivers. But in fact, Grab does manage the drivers and charges transport fees,” the verdict said.

    “When customers order a ride, they transfer their money to Grab or pay via the driver a sum from which Grab takes a percentage. Grab also determines the bonus and punishment for drivers,” it added.

    Furthermore, Grab’s business activities do not follow the law, which requires an automobile transportation business to ensure the number of vehicles and service quality, the court said. The law also requires the business to provide employees with labor contracts, traffic safety training and social security.

    Grab does not follow these regulations and does not pay the taxes it should as a transport business, the court said.

    Since 2016, the Inspectorate of the HCMC Department of Transportation has listed 29 violations committed by Grab concerning not having a business registration certificate, list of transport contracts, and taxi signs, the court said.

    Grab has also ignored twice the Ministry of Transport’s documents asking the company to stop its service with contracted vehicles, it said.

    The ride hailing firm has also violated the law in how it gives out promotions and increase and decrease transport fees multiple times a day, the court added.

    Vinasun had filed the suit against Grab in June last year. It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion ($1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) in losses it had suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

    The trial began in February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab had protested the valuation of Vinasun’s losses.

    Last October, prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion, rejecting Grab’s claim it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.

    Grab responded by writing to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying that identifying it as a taxi firm would be “a step backward from Industry 4.0.”

    The latest draft of a Ministry of Transport decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technology.

    This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

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  • Grab eyes stake in Vinasun, taxi company refuses to play ball

    Grab eyes stake in Vinasun, taxi company refuses to play ball

    Grab’s surprise offer to buy a $2.78-million stake in top taxi company Vinasun has failed, with the latter asking to end negotiations. The negotiations between the two firms began earlier this month for compensation claimed by Vinasun from the Malaysian ride-hailing firm after the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City yet again adjourned hearing of a suit Vinasun had filed last year.

    A Vinasun spokesperson told the court following the latest resumption of the trial Wednesday that his firm had declined the offer since Grab had not made an appropriate offer. “We don’t want to continue the negotiations.”

    But Grab does not want the lawsuit to continue.

    Its spokesperson said: “We have become very tired during the 17 months of this trial for damages we did not cause. We do not want Vinasun to waste its time on this meaningless lawsuit. We consider the proposal to buy Vinasun’s stake an investment activity, and we expect to cooperate with Vinasun to end the case in a good way.”

    Vinasun filed the suit against Grab in June last year, accusing it of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

    It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) worth of losses it had suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

    The trial began last February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab had protested against the value of Vinasun’s losses.

    Last October prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion, rejecting Grab’s claim it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.

    Grab responded by writing to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to say that identifying it as a taxi firm would be “a step backward from Industry 4.0.”

    The latest draft of a transport ministry decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technologies.

    This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

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  • Go-Viet, Grab Vietnam to face tight competition

    Go-Viet, Grab Vietnam to face tight competition

    Vietnamese technology startup Be Group Corporation officially launched its ride-hailing platform Thursday, with beBike and beCar. The latest entrant to a market dominated by the likes of Grab and Go Viet has set an ambitious target of partnering with 10,000 drivers in a few weeks, by the end of 2018, and 100,000 drivers next year. Unlike the current ride-hailing firms, Be Group has registers its service as a transportation business.

    “We have gathered a lot of talent, and I personally have experience running start-ups for many years. With thousands of billions of dong ($1= VND23,287) mobilised, we are confident our platform can compete in this fierce market,” Be Group CEO Tran Thanh Hai said at the launch.

    Be Group apps will start operating in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from December 17. The company has announced an initial 25-percent royalty for beBike and beCar drivers, while specific prices and discount schemes for customers have not been revealed.

    Be Group hopes to become a big player like Grab or Go Viet with a comprehensive super-app. In 2019, the company plans to roll out delivery and payment services. It aims to attract tens of millions of users in the next three years.

    Vietnam’s ride-hailing market has seen new entrants after Uber’s departure early this year, including Vietnamese firm FastGo, GoViet – a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Go-Jek, Aber and the latest Be Group.

    Grab, which counts Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp among its backers, had 175,000 drivers and bikers in Vietnam as of September and is the most prominent player in Vietnam after it pushed out Uber, according to Reuters.

    Rival GoJek entered Vietnam in August eyeing to grab a share of the fast-growing market. Vietnam has 95 million people and many use smartphones.

    A number of local taxi companies in Vietnam have come together to compete against ride-hailing firms, while Grab has been in a legal battle for more than a year with local taxi firm Vinasun Corp.

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  • Vietnamese taxi firm to get support in lawsuit against Grab

    Vietnamese taxi firm to get support in lawsuit against Grab

    Prosecutors have argued in a trial in HCMC that Grab must pay Vinasun compensation for losses it caused through “unhealthy competition.” At a hearing Tuesday the city People’s Procuracy rejected ride-hailing firm Grab’s argument that the court had no jurisdiction over the case, saying it does since it is a commercial dispute.

    Prosecutors also asked the judges to deny Grab’s request to summon representatives of Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport, other companies participating in the ministry’s pilot scheme for ride-hailing services and the company responsible for estimating Vinasun’s losses.

    As for Grab’s claim it is a tech firm and not a taxi company, they said since the firm directly assigns drivers, sets fares, sets regulations for drivers, and offers promotions, there is enough reason to dismiss this too.

    “Vinasun’s demand for compensation for reduced profits is well founded since Grab was dishonest in its business declaration and ran promotions in contravention of regulations, causing over 70 percent of Vinasun’s customers to switch to Grab due to lower fares.”

    Vinasun’s after-tax profit was nearly VND320 billion ($13.7 million) in 2015 and VND295 billion ($12.63 million) in 2016, but dropped to VND53 billion ($2.27 million) in the first half of 2017, by which time over 8,000 drivers had quit and hundreds of cars had stopped running due to a lack of drivers.

    Prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) in one payment.

    Grab continued to insist the case did not come under the court’s jurisdiction and that it is a tech firm.

    Dismissing the claim it had caused losses to Vinasun, Grab cited market research purporting Vinasun has been losing customers due to other reasons such as driver’s attitude, long waiting time and declining car quality.

    Vinasun filed the suit against Grab at the HCMC People’s Court in June last year accusing the Malaysia-based firm of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

    Claiming Grab’s illegal activities had caused damages to it, Vinasun claimed to have suffered losses of nearly VND76 billion ($3.25 million) in 2016 and the first half of 2017, of which nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) was caused by Grab.

    The trial began last February, but was first adjourned a month later due to the need for more evidence and again last month when Grab protested against the evaluation of Vinasun’s losses and refused to attend.

    The court is scheduled to hand down its verdict next Monday.