Who are To Hai Thien Kim and his wife, the owners of Phe La and Katinat?

Trillion-dollar assets

Ms. Truong Nguyen Thien Kim, wife of Mr. To Hai - Member of the Board of Directors and General Director of Vietcap Securities JSC (code VCI), has registered to sell 13 million VCI shares for personal needs. The transaction is expected to take place from September 4 to October 3 by order matching and/or negotiation.

Ms. Truong Nguyen Thien Kim (in blue ao dai). Photo: Aunt Mai Restaurant

According to the current market price of VCI, Ms. Thien Kim can earn about 600 billion VND if the deal is completed. The unexpected move has made investors focus their attention on this "rich and powerful" couple. Unlike Mr. To Hai - a name that is all too familiar to the financial deal-making community, Ms. Thien Kim is somewhat secretive.

Ms. Thien Kim was born in 1976 in Da Lat, has a master's degree in Finance, Money Circulation and Credit from Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics. She started her career as a quality control officer, market research officer, accountant, etc. This businesswoman has held many senior positions at large enterprises such as PNJ, Dong A Bank, etc.

Before registering to sell shares, Ms. Thien Kim was one of the major shareholders at Vietcap with more than 22.8 million VCI shares, equivalent to 5.17% of shares. Mr. To Hai also directly holds more than 49.4 million VCI shares, equivalent to nearly 11.2% of shares. Counting only VCI shares, the assets of the couple To Hai - Thien Kim are approximately 3,500 billion VND.

Imprints on many businesses on the stock exchange

In addition to Vietcap, Mr. To Hai and Ms. Thien Kim are also senior leaders of International Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (LoF - code IDP). Here, Mr. To Hai holds the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Ms. Thien Kim is a member of the Board of Directors. Vietcap is also one of the largest shareholders holding more than 8.8 million shares, equivalent to more than 14% of LoF's capital.

Mr. To Hai - General Director of VCI, Chairman of International Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (IDP). Photo: TL

Notably, Vietcap is also investing hundreds of billions of VND in "reputable" companies in the financial sector that are payment intermediaries licensed to provide financial switching services and electronic clearing services in Vietnam. Even a consumer finance company in 2021 just completed the sale of 49% of its charter capital to a subsidiary 100% owned by a Japanese corporation.

The investment in a payment intermediary company licensed to provide financial switching services and electronic clearing services in Vietnam has an original cost of VND 408 billion but its fair value as of the end of the second quarter of 2024 is up to nearly VND 600 billion. Meanwhile, the investment in the aforementioned consumer finance company has an original cost of VND 161 billion.

The above-mentioned payment intermediary company is a financial institution that plays an important role in managing and operating the national financial switching and electronic clearing center, connecting a network of tens of thousands of ATMs, hundreds of thousands of POS machines, over 100 million cards of 48 domestic and international commercial banks operating in Vietnam...

Meanwhile, the finance company is the leading consumer finance company in Vietnam with about 50% market share. This finance company has up to 20,000 service introduction points nationwide and over 13,000 employees. The company was valued at 2.8 billion USD in 2021.

In addition to the above names, Ms. Thien Kim is also an independent member of the Board of Directors of Ben Thanh Trading and Service JSC (code BTT), a member of the Board of Supervisors of Mien Tay Bus Station JSC (code WCS).

Notably, Ben Thanh Trading and Service is a legal entity related to tycoon Nguyen Cao Tri, who was arrested by the Ministry of Public Security in the case of Abuse of trust to appropriate property related to the Truong My Lan case and sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The "boss" in the F&B industry

In addition to her mark in the financial world, Ms. Thien Kim is known as an influential figure in the F&B industry. This businesswoman is currently the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and General Director of D1 Concepts JSC; member of the Board of Directors and General Director of Katinat Café JSC; Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Phe La JSC. D1 Concepts also owns many other F&B chains such as San Fu Lou restaurant, Di Mai restaurant, Sorae Japanese restaurant.

Notably, the two coffee chains Phe La and Katinat are emerging strongly as a counterweight to the "giants" such as Highlands Coffee, The Coffee House, or Trung Nguyen. Katinat alone owns a total of 73 stores in many provinces and cities across the country, concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City, and currently accounts for 1.35% of the country's chain coffee market share, with revenue in 2023 reaching nearly 470 billion VND.

At Katinat, Ms. Thien Kim currently holds 3.2 million shares, equivalent to an ownership ratio of 84.211%. Other shareholders are Mr. Le Ngoc Khanh, co-founder, holding 300,000 shares (7.895%) and Mr. Dinh Viet Ha, holding 300,000 shares (7.895%).

At Phe La, Ms. Thien Kim currently holds 9.18 million shares, equivalent to 51% ownership. Other shareholders are Ms. Nguyen Hanh Hoa, founder, holding 6.48 million shares (36%); Mr. Nguyen Hoang, holding 2.34 million shares (13%). In 2023, this coffee chain will achieve revenue of nearly 300 billion VND and after-tax profit of about tens of billions of VND.

Previously, on September 11, Katinat announced via Facebook that from September 12 to September 30, each glass of water sold in their system will donate 1,000 VND to support the North in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. The brand emphasized that this is a voluntary action, not a call for donations, but simply their small contribution to those in difficulty. All the money donated will be made public and used to help the people of the North with a specific plan to be announced later.

However, after the announcement was published, many customers expressed their dissatisfaction. They said that Katinat was taking advantage of the natural disaster to increase sales. Some criticized the campaign ending date on September 30 as unreasonable, as relief activities need to be carried out more urgently.

At around 4pm on September 12, about 20 hours after the initial announcement, Katinat announced the direct transfer of 1 billion VND to the Vietnam Fatherland Front - Central Relief Committee. The brand also sent a sincere apology for creating unnecessary misunderstandings in the campaign to support people in flood-hit areas.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/an-so-vo-chong-to-hai-thien-kim-om-khoi-tai-san-hang-nghin-ty-dung-sau-loat-ten-tuoi-dinh-dam-tu-san-chung-khoan-den-chuoi-phe-la-katinat-post312550.html