SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, has sold its entire stake in Vietnam’s Vingroup, securing about 1 trillion won ($710 million) in cash, according to industry sources on Wednesday.
From January through early August, SK offloaded its entire 6.05 percent stake in Vingroup via a series of block trades on the Vietnamese stock exchange, prearranged with institutional investors.
Though the buyer and exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, the transaction is expected to have recouped more than its initial investment.
In January, SK sold the first 22 percent of its stake for about 120 billion won, when Vingroup shares were trading at around 39,000 Vietnamese dong ($1.50). By early August, the stock price had surged 2.6 times to 104,000 dong, suggesting the remaining 78 percent was sold at a significantly higher valuation.
SK had originally invested $1 billion (around 1.1 trillion won at the time) in Vingroup in 2019, becoming its fourth-largest shareholder.
Analysts estimate that total proceeds could exceed 1.3 trillion won, given the share price increase and volume sold. SK is believed to have benefited from favorable currency exchange movements, as the Korean won depreciated more than the Vietnamese dong against the US dollar since the initial investment.
The divestment is part of SK Group’s ongoing portfolio rebalancing strategy launched last year, aimed at strengthening financial stability and reallocating capital toward future growth areas.
The group has already sold its 7.1 percent stake in WinCommerce, a retail subsidiary of Vietnam’s Masan Group, for $200 million in September 2024, followed by a 5.05 percent stake in Masan Group for another $200 million in November of the same year.
SK is also expected to ramp up investment in new growth areas, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
“Separate from the equity sales, we will maintain a strategic partnership with Vinn Group in the future growth sector,” an SK official said.
SK Group has engaged in various forms of collaboration with Vingroup, the largest conglomerate in Vietnam that operates across diverse sectors including real estate development, retail, smartphones and automobiles.
herim@heraldcorp.com
