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Tag: vinasun

  • Vietnam’s top taxi firm sees investment follow divestment

    Vietnam’s top taxi firm sees investment follow divestment

    Soon after a Singaporean fund divested its entire stock in Vietnam’s top taxi firm Vinasun, a domestic securities firm stepped in to fill the gap.

    The Ho Chi Minh Securities Corporation (HSC), a professional securities brokerage and equities firm in Vietnam, has announced that it bought 7.2 million shares of Vinasun on May 25, the same day that Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC exited.

    It is estimated that HSC has spent about VND104 billion ($4.5 million) to acquire 10.6 percent of Vinasun’s equity, making it the third largest shareholder of the taxi firm, behind TAEL Partners fund, which owns 18.3 percent, and Vinasun CEO Dang Phuoc Thanh, who owns over 35 percent.

    On May 25, GIC had negotiated the sale of 5.4 million shares, or around 8 percent of its stake in Vinasun, for around VND80 billion ($3.5 million), less than half the price it paid four years ago.

    The divestment followed lackluster performance by the taxi company, which had seen its share value plunge. The company has blamed its woes on “unfair competition” from foreign ride-hailing service companies.

    Ride-hailing services Grab and Uber arrived in Vietnam in 2014, launching both car and motorbike taxi services. The two services have been running on a trial basis since early 2016, cutting deep into the earnings of traditional taxi drivers.

    Many taxi firms have accused Grab and Uber of unfair competition, saying their businesses have suffered and thousands of drivers have had to quit. Currently, Vietnam is investigating Grab’s acquisition of Uber, saying there are signs of antitrust law infringement in the deal.

    Vinasun has targeted revenues of VND2.16 trillion ($94.9 million) and after-tax profits of VND95 billion ($4.18 million) this year, 50 percent less than in 2017 and the lowest target in nine years.

    By the end of 2017, Vinasun had whittled down its staff to just 7,117, a decrease of 10,000 people from the beginning of the year. In the first three months this year, it lost another 120 employees.

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  • Saigon cab firm takes on Uber with unexpected weapon: grapefruit

    Saigon cab firm takes on Uber with unexpected weapon: grapefruit

    With Uber and other app-based car-hailing services becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam, one local taxi firm has decided to improvise in order to give its drivers a competitive edge.

    Vinasun, the country’s second biggest taxi firm, has found a way to boost its drivers’ incomes by turning 800 cabs in Ho Chi Minh City into mobile grapefruit stalls.

    A kilogram of pomelo, a green-skin grapefruit, sells for VND64,000 ($2.81)

    “Drivers receive a bonus for selling large quantities of fruit,” a driver said.

    The taxi operator typically keeps 80 percent of the revenue from its grapefruit business and awards the remaining 20 percent to the drivers, said executive officer Ta Long Hy.

    Vinasun drivers are making on average between $2 and $4 a day from selling grapefruit, he estimated, adding that the best sellers can add up to $17 to their daily incomes.

    Since ride-hailing companies like Uber and Grab appeared on the scene, traditional taxi drivers have seen their incomes rapidly plunging.

    Traditional taxi companies have been lobbying the government for a lower VAT levy to allow them to compete with cab-hailing apps. The government has, however, turned down the request saying there’s no grounding to claim traditional taxi companies have to pay higher taxes and fees than their ride-hailing competitors.

    Uber and Grab cut into at least 10 percent taxi operators’ revenue last year in Ho Chi Minh City, the local association of taxi companies estimated.

    The number of private minicabs, mostly offering transportation services via car-hailing apps, has reached 20,000 in Ho Chi Minh City, twice as many as the number of traditional taxis.

    Last year Vinasun, which has around 6,000 cabs and operates chiefly in Ho Chi Minh City, launched a counteroffensive against the ride-hailing menace: its own app.

    Passengers using Vinasun’s ride-hailing app can easily recognize their minicabs with a ‘Vcar’ logo, Vinasun’s luxury version. They will be offered the option to fix the price at the beginning of a journey rather than rely on the taxi meter, according to Vinasun.

    Vinasun Group, which has been listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange since 2008, made VND4.3 trillion in revenue ($189 million) last year, down 6 percent from 2015.