VinFast's IPO is Coming
What if it fails?
Good afternoon! Hello to new readers, and welcome to the Vietnam Weekly, written by reporter Mike Tatarski. This is another edition exclusively for paying subscribers. I’ve upped the frequency of these to three per month since there is so much going on. If you haven’t already, you can upgrade to a paid subscription to receive all future paid editions and access the archive for US$5/month or US$50/year.
On to the news.
I haven’t covered VinFast since mid-May when the American auto press collectively annihilated the VF 8 electric SUV on the same day the company announced its plan to IPO in the United States through a SPAC.
How have things gone since then for one of Vietnam’s most ambitious (and possibly most hubristic) brands?
Mixed, to say the least. Let’s break down the last few weeks for VinFast here in Vietnam, and then the far more perilous state of things overseas.