South Korea’s tech and telco firm SK Group has invested USD 1 billion into Vietnamese real estate, retail, and tech conglomerate Vingroup, as reported by local media outlet Vietnam News. The investment came through the acquisition of 154.3 million primary shares in Vingroup and 51.4 million shares of the Vietnamese firm’s subsidiary VinCommerce. Consequently, SK Group will own a 6% stake in Vingroup.
The strategic partnership is part of SK’s expansion strategy in Southeast Asia. The Korean conglomerate aims to be part of the hefty foreign investments that are pouring into Vietnam as the country’s economy continually grows.
Vingroup says it will benefit from SK’s extensive experience, solid business foundation, and technological achievements, particularly in the industrial and technology fields. The conglomerate is the largest private enterprise in Vietnam, with businesses in real estate, hospitality and entertainment, retail, health, education, agriculture, and technology. It has a market capitalization of over USD 16 billion.
Vingroup has been consistently introducing new innovations, including its first made-in-Vietnam smartphones through its mobile phone subsidiary VinSmart. In May, the company announced its plans to bring 3,000 electric buses to Vietnam’s roads through a new public transport service, VinBus. Additionally, Vingroup is also investing in artificial intelligence and IoT technologies as the firm opened its first foreign R&D center in Daegu, South Korea, earlier this year.