The handshake of two bosses
In the past two consecutive weeks, LPBank, chaired by Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy (Bau Thuy), and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group Joint Stock Company (HAGL), chaired by Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc (Bau Duc), announced two important cooperation agreements.
First, LPBank and HAGL signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement on October 23. The two sides did not announce the details of the cooperation, but through the statements of Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc and General Director of LPBank Ho Nam Tien at the signing ceremony, it can be seen that LPBank provides capital for HAGL to invest in the agricultural sector such as planting and raising livestock.
LPBank Chairman Nguyen Duc Thuy was not present at the ceremony. However, right after the signing ceremony, the public caught the image of Mr. Thuy and Mr. Duc happily sitting together in the stands of Hang Day Stadium watching the opening match of V-League 2023/24 between Hanoi Police Club and Binh Dinh on the afternoon of October 23.
In the Vietnamese business community, Mr. Thuy and Mr. Duc (Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc) are not only famous in the business world but also famous for their passion for football. Both of these businessmen are not afraid to “spend money” on football in their own way.
It is very possible that sitting together, enjoying the match from the stands of Hang Day Stadium is just a hobby of two presidents who share the same passion. However, just a few days later, on November 2, LPBank suddenly signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the Football Academy and HAGL Football Club.
With the support of LPBank, the Academy and HAGL Club changed their names to LPBank – Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Academy and LPBank – Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Club. This is considered a concrete step to realize the comprehensive cooperation agreement signed between HAGL Group and LPBank on October 23.
Once, in front of investors, Mr. Duc affirmed that his investment in football is not only a passion but also because there is no cheaper way to market through football.
Obviously, the mountain town football team is in dire need of new investment resources to regain its former glory, while for LPBank, sponsoring this team will also help strongly promote their image and products and services.
Mr. Thuy is thriving, Mr. Duc is in trouble
Both Mr. Thuy and Mr. Duc are in the Top 100 richest people on the stock exchange. Mr. Duc is currently the largest shareholder at HAGL Group (code HAG) with 34.50% of shares (approximately 320 million shares, equivalent to a value of more than 2,600 billion VND at current market price).
Meanwhile, Mr. Thuy is directly holding 2.41% of shares at LPBank (more than 61.62 million LPB shares, equivalent to a value of 940 billion VND).
While tycoon Nguyen Duc Thuy's career is on the rise, holding the most important positions at Thai Holdings and LPBank, Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc has been facing many storms in recent years due to HAGL's business results not being as expected.
Regarding the latest business results, LPBank recently announced its third quarter 2023 business results with pre-tax profit of VND 1,241 billion, an increase of 41% over the previous quarter.
However, the continuous implementation of interest rate reduction policies caused LPBank's accumulated pre-tax profit in the first 3 quarters of 2023 to reach VND 3,678 billion, down 24% over the same period last year.
In the first 9 months of the year, LPBank achieved a total outstanding loan balance of VND 263,640 billion, equivalent to an increase of 11.80% compared to the beginning of the year, capital mobilization reached nearly VND 274,580 billion, an increase of 9.4% compared to the end of 2022.
For Bau Duc's HAGL Group, after-tax profit in the third quarter only reached 33 billion VND, down 5 billion VND compared to the same period.
Notably, HAGL's sales and service revenue in the third quarter reached only VND7 billion, down VND14 billion compared to the same period. Due to no reversal of provisions for long-term investments, financial expenses increased by VND73 billion compared to the third quarter of 2022, reaching VND132 billion.
Mr. Duc recently had to sell the hotel to solve the financial difficulties surrounding him. Thanks to the liquidation of assets, the company recorded 140 billion VND in revenue from other activities (there was no such revenue in the same period last year).
As of September 30, HAGL had bond interest payable of up to VND 3,400 billion and interest payable to banks and individuals of VND 30.5 billion.
Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc has been with HAGL Club for more than 20 years, from investing systematically in youth training, to nurturing a team that has competed in the V-League for many years. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy, when he was Chairman of Xuan Thanh Group (the predecessor of Thai Holdings), was also the "boss" of famous football clubs at that time. The name "Bau Thuy" was first mentioned by the public in 2010 after Xuan Thanh Group became the official sponsor of Quang Nam Football Club. |
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