"It is also one of our financing options, but we need to prove to them that we are qualified," Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong told a group including reporters.

The VinFast logo is displayed on a VF5 electric SUV during CES 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 5, 2022.

VinFast said this week that its Singapore-based holding company had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with U.S. securities regulators, as the company readies a $4-billion investment to build a factory in the United States.

VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is betting big on the U.S. market, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers and startups with two all-electric SUVs and a battery leasing model that will reduce the purchase price.

Vuong said VinFast was committed to an IPO that would help establish the electric vehicle maker as a global brand, but added: "if the conditions are not right we can wait."

"We ourselves are determined to push and committed to this IPO, but the highest target for the IPO is not financing but to set up VinFast in the global market," he told the group.

Lending from the U.S. government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (AVTM) loan program was another option VinFast was exploring, Vuong said, in response to a question.

The $25-billion fund was established by Congress in 2007 when Detroit-based automakers were tipping into crisis. It is administered by the Department of Energy still has a lending capacity of almost $18 billion, according to its website.

VinFast has promised to create 7,500 jobs at its planned plant in North Carolina, where it will build the battery-powered VF8 and VF9 SUVs. The company has said it plans to begin construction of the plant as soon as permits are granted with a goal of starting production by 2024.

It plans to begin exporting the two electric vehicles to the United States later this year from its existing plant in Vietnam.

VinFast to receive pre-orders for latest electric SUV models from next month

Vietnamese automaker VinFast on December 27 announced that it will officially receive pre-orders for VF e35 and VF e36 electric SUVs globally from 8am on January 6, 2022.

Vingroup plans US IPO for car unit Vinfast

Vingroup will transfer all its stakes in VinFast Vietnam to its affiliate in Singapore as part of preparations for the automaker’s initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.

Vinfast signs agreement with Chinese company to produce car battery

Vietnamese carmaker Vinfast has signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Gotion High-Tech on the production of a battery for electric cars.

VinFast launches two electric cars in US

Vietnamese automobile manufacturer VinFast officially launched its global electric vehicle brand and two electric SUV models, the VF e35 and VF e36, at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show on the morning of November 18 (Vietnam time), marking VinFast’s entry into the US market.

VinFast eyes global market, to open car plant in US

VinFast plans to set up an automobile plant in the U.S. as part of its strategy to start selling there in 2022, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Source: VnExpress