The $75 Billion Bill Gates Charity Fund is About to Buy 458,000 More Shares in Vietnamese Billionaire’s Company

Masan Consumers: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust’s Strategic Investments in Vietnam

On October 14th, Masan Consumer Holdings (stock code: MCH) passed a resolution to offer 326.8 million shares to existing shareholders at a ratio of 100:45.1 (shareholders owning 1,000 shares are entitled to purchase 451 new shares). The offering price is set at VND 10,000 per share.

The expected total proceeds of VND 3,268 billion will be mainly used by the company to repay debts. Masan Consumers’ chartered capital is expected to increase from VND 7,355 billion to VND 10,623 billion.

Notably, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust appeared in the list of voting shareholders. This organization currently holds over 1 million MCH shares, valued at VND 212 billion in the market.

With its ownership of more than 1 million MCH shares, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is expected to have the right to purchase an additional 458,000 new shares if it wishes to maintain its ownership ratio. The fund is expected to spend approximately VND 4.6 billion to acquire these shares.

Additionally, on October 2nd, Masan Consumer Holdings sought shareholder approval for an interim dividend for 2024, with a maximum ratio of 100% (equivalent to VND 10,000 per share). Previously, in 2023, the company had finalized a plan to pay dividends in cash to shareholders at a ratio of 268%.

As a result, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust could receive more than VND 38 billion in dividends from Masan Consumer Holdings for 2023 and 2024 combined.

So far this year, MCH shares have more than doubled in value, currently trading at VND 199,000 per share. The market capitalization stands at VND 144,200 billion (USD 5.7 billion).

The fund manages over USD 75 billion in assets

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the entity that manages the finances of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a charitable organization founded by Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and his former wife, Melinda Gates.

As of the end of 2023, BMGF Trust’s net asset value exceeded USD 75 billion, mainly in financial investments.

BMGF Trust has been indirectly investing in Vietnam for a long time, particularly in the stock market through Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL) – the largest investment fund in Vietnam’s stock market, managed by Dragon Capital.

BMGF Trust is currently the second-largest shareholder of VEIL, holding nearly 24.7 million fund certificates. These certificates are currently valued at over USD 183 million based on VEIL’s market price on the London Stock Exchange.

It is known that BMGF Trust has not traded VEIL for a considerable period.

While making significant investments in Vietnam’s stock market, the Bill Gates-led fund sold a series of shares in major global technology companies in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to Dataroma, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust sold all its technology stocks, including Apple, Meta (Facebook’s parent company), Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, and Nvidia.

The fund also offloaded a range of other well-known stocks, such as Walt Disney, Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin, and PepsiCo. Additionally, the Bill Gates fund reduced its holdings in two of the largest stocks in its portfolio: Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway.

According to Forbes, Bill Gates is currently the 13th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of USD 107 billion. The billionaire also owns 111,288 hectares of land, ranking as the 42nd largest landowner in the United States. He is also the largest owner of agricultural land in the country, according to Land Report, a land industry magazine.

Most of Gates’ income is dedicated to charitable activities through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2023, the foundation committed to spending USD 8.3 billion to fight poverty, disease, and inequality, a 15% increase from 2022. The foundation also aims to increase its payouts to USD 9 billion by 2026.