The Billionaire’s Business: Unveiling Thaco’s Strategies and the Taxman’s Concerns

Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) has released its financial report for the first half of 2024, offering insights into the company’s performance.

According to the report, Thaco’s profit for this period reached VND 1,011 billion, a 6% decrease compared to the same period last year, and equivalent to approximately 37% of the full-year 2023 profit.

As of June 30, 2024, the company’s equity stood at VND 54,260 billion, reflecting an increase of 8.3% from a year ago and a 3.6% rise compared to the end of 2023.

The debt-to-equity ratio increased to 2.45, indicating approximately VND 133,000 billion in debt. Additionally, the bond debt-to-equity ratio rose to 0.26, translating to roughly VND 14,100 billion in bond debt.

Earlier this year, during a tax assessment meeting for the first quarter in Quang Nam province, the Quang Nam Tax Department expressed concerns about Thaco, owned by billionaire Tran Ba Duong.

The department noted that Thaco, which contributes over 60% of Quang Nam’s domestic revenue, witnessed a significant decline in the first three months of 2024. While the company paid VND 1,663.5 billion in taxes in January, this figure dropped to VND 609 billion in February and further decreased to VND 465.5 billion in March.

“This is a matter of concern. If this situation persists, it will significantly impact the province’s total budget revenue”, stated the Quang Nam Tax Department.

For the year 2024, Thaco aims to contribute VND 24,500 billion to the state budget. This is the second year of Thaco’s restructuring, transforming from an automobile manufacturing and assembling group investing in various industries into a parent group that solely manages capital and investments.

Thaco Auto’s plans for this year include selling 95,400 vehicles of different types, with 76,200 passenger cars and 19,200 trucks and buses, capturing a 38% market share in Vietnam. They also aim to export over 1,600 vehicles, with a consolidated revenue target of VND 68,400 billion. The total investment for this year is expected to exceed VND 2,100 billion.

Thaco Industries has set a consolidated revenue target of VND 13,000 billion for 2024, including an export revenue of USD 250 million. Their total investment for the year is planned at VND 2,100 billion.

Thaco Agri, focusing on agricultural machinery and equipment, has set a consolidated revenue target of VND 6,600 billion, with an export revenue goal of USD 190 million. Their total investment for the year is VND 5,800 billion.

Thadico (Dai Quang Minh), a subsidiary specializing in real estate and construction, is expected to invest VND 3,085 billion in 2024.

Thiso, another Thaco subsidiary, forecasts a consolidated revenue of VND 5,880 billion for the year, with a total investment of VND 9,469 billion.

Rounding out the group, Thilogi aims for a consolidated revenue of VND 3,800 billion, with external business activities contributing a significant 40%. Their total investment for the year is projected to be nearly VND 1,000 billion.