VinFast's Zippy Entry into Nasdaq: Vietnam's Electric Dynamo Gears Up for U.S. Debut

A general view of VinFast's factory in Hai Phong City, Vietnam, April 22, 2021.

Fasten your seatbelts, folks! Vietnam's electric vehicle darling, VinFast, is about to hit the Nasdaq throttle. If the Nasdaq had a red carpet, VinFast would be the starlet gracing it as early as next week, following its merger with Black Spade Acquisition. The glamour of Hong Kong-based Black Spade, a SPAC (Special Purchase Acquisition Company) - often cheekily referred to as the "blank-check companies," cast its vote in favor of this merging extravaganza with VinFast.

The word on Wall Street is that VinFast will strut its ticker symbol "VFS" around August 15. While it sounds like an event worth grabbing popcorn for, this isn't the first SPAC rodeo for the EV world. Makers like Faraday Future, Nikola Corp, and Lucid have danced the SPAC tango, although the SPAC arena is increasingly raising eyebrows among the Wall Street watchdogs and discerning investors.

VinFast's pivot from an IPO to a SPAC merger might seem like the plot twist in a business-themed soap opera. But don't adjust your TV antennas just yet. The EV darling has shipped a modest 3,000 vehicles from its Vietnamese homeland to U.S. shores and started handing over the keys to its VF8 EVs this past March.

However, they've been tight-lipped about the sales figures, possibly keeping that cliffhanger for the next season.

Financially speaking, there were a few speed bumps. A revenue dip of 49% in Q1 and a net loss of $598 million might make you think VinFast is taking a scenic route. But Chairman Vuong, who seems to be juggling roles as Vietnam's richest individual and the captain of conglomerate Vingroup, is optimistic. He's got his eyes set on selling up to 50,000 EVs this year, hoping to see the company's balance sheet in the black by 2024's curtain call.

A word of caution though – the EV highway has its fair share of traffic. With behemoths like Tesla revving up innovations and pushing competitive pricing, VinFast might need more than just its speed to lead the race.

Wrapping up, the SPAC merge with Black Spade might not inject fresh capital into VinFast's coffers, but with a valuation hovering at a cool $23 billion, it seems they are parked pretty comfortably. Meanwhile, Black Spade, brought to life by Lawrence Ho (yes, the heir to gambling mogul Stanley Ho's empire), just added another ace to its deck.