Will AEON Group acquire MSB's consumer finance company FCCOM?

January 10, 2022 | 11:27

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The Board of Directors of MSB announced the planned sale of Finance Company Limited For Community, and AEON Group is allegedly the most viable acquirer for MSB’s consumer finance firm.

Will AEON Group acquire MSB's consumer finance company FCCOM?

Finance Company Limited For Community (FCCOM) – the consumer finance subsidiary of MSB – would be sold to foreign investors in late December, according to the board of directors of MSB.

Several industry insiders revealed that renowned Japanese retail corporation AEON Group is allegedly the most potential partner for MSB.

The anticipated deal is roughly estimated to be between VND1.8 trillion ($78.3 million) and VND2 trillion ($87 million).

"We estimate that the proposed spinoff from FCCOM’s divestment will result in a comparably large profit for MSB," said Nguyen Hoang Linh, CEO of MSB.

AEON has prepared to investigate the consumer finance landscape in Vietnam since 2020.

There were rumours that AEON's retail operation might benefit from the buy now, pay later strategy if a new consumer finance division was established.

Previously, Handico Financing JSC (HAFIC), a consumer finance company owned by the Investment and Hanoi Housing Development Corporation, was allegedly the subject of interest of AEON Group, despite being under the State Bank of Vietnam’s special supervision.

Hanoi-based lender TPBank, however, is the most likely candidate to buy HAFIC.

In late 2021, Motoya Okada, chairman of AEON Group, expressed his intention to list on the Vietnamese stock exchange.

AEON Group has ramped up its presence in Vietnam since 2014 and has spent a total of $1.18 billion on its investment here.

With its high-profile brand, the Japanese group is an exemplary case for foreign-invested enterprises to raise funds from Vietnam’s public equity. Currently, the capitalisation of listed overseas-funded firms accounts for only about 0.3 per cent of the overall market size, which is far less than their local counterparts.

By Celine Luu

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