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Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, Founder of Tan Tan Peanut Brand. Photo: Tan Tan |
Who owns Tan Tan?
The People’s Procuracy of Di An City, Binh Duong Province has recently issued an indictment to prosecute Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, the founder and former Chairman and Director of Tan Tan Joint Stock Company (specializing in peanut production), for tax evasion and non-compliance with civil judgments. At the same time, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, Mr. Tan’s younger brother and a member of Tan Tan’s Board of Directors, was also indicted for non-compliance with civil judgments.
Starting as a peanut processing facility in 1984, Tan Tan once dominated the market with familiar brands such as Coconut Milk Peanuts, Fish Skin Peanuts, Amero Peanuts, and Wasabi Cashews. During its golden age, the company had over 140 distributors, more than 40,000 retail outlets, and a presence in most supermarkets and shopping malls, capturing 80% of the market share nationwide. Almost every product of Tan Tan has left a deep impression on the memories of many generations of Vietnamese people, from daily snacks to holiday and Tet gifts.
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Familiar product lines from the Tan Tan brand |
In addition, Tan Tan has successfully exported its products to markets such as the US, South Korea, China, Nigeria, and Cuba. However, the company’s golden period did not last long as it faced scandals in both business and legal aspects.
Tan Tan’s charter capital is VND 80 billion. At its establishment, the company had three shareholders who were family members, including Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, holding 80% of the capital; Ms. Chau Ngoc Phung (Mr. Tan’s wife) and Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan (Mr. Tan’s younger brother), each holding 10%.
In mid-2011, Mr. Tan transferred nearly 3.67 million shares, equivalent to 45.83% of the capital, to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh. By the end of 2017, Ms. Chau Ngoc Phung’s shares were sold at an auction, and Ms. Vuong Le Xuan purchased 9.78% of Tan Tan’s charter capital.
According to the shareholder register announced at the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Tan Tan, there are five individual shareholders, including Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, holding 45.83% of Tan Tan’s charter capital; Mr. Tran Quoc Tan with 34.17%; Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan with 10%; Ms. Vuong Le Xuan with 9.78%, and Ms. Chau Ngoc Phung with 0.22%.
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Changes in Tan Tan’s shareholder structure |
Prolonged dispute with shareholders
After becoming a shareholder, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh repeatedly requested the Board of Directors to convene an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to elect a new Board, provide information on business operations, financial reports, and evaluate the company’s performance, but Mr. Tran Quoc Tan did not comply.
At the end of 2015, Ms. Thanh again filed a lawsuit requesting the convening of the Board of Directors and demanding that Mr. Tan hand over accounting books, contracts, and financial documents for compulsory audit. The court subsequently ruled that the Board of Directors must convene an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to elect a new Board and allow Ms. Thanh to examine and transcribe the company’s minutes, resolutions, and financial reports.
On April 23, the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Tan Tan was successfully held with two shareholders representing nearly 4.45 million shares, accounting for 55.61% of the total voting shares. According to this ratio, the two shareholders attending the meeting were likely Ms. Thanh and Ms. Xuan.
The report of the Board of Directors of Tan Tan at the Annual General Meeting stated that the meeting of the Board of Directors on May 28, 2022, agreed to elect Mr. Le Hong Phuong as Chairman of the Board and dismiss Mr. Tran Quoc Tan from the position of Director and legal representative of the company. Mr. Phuong would assume these roles.
On January 11, 2024, Tan Tan was granted a new business registration certificate by the Business Registration Office of the Binh Duong Province Department of Planning and Investment. The company’s legal representative was changed from Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, Chairman and Director, to Mr. Le Hong Phuong, the new Director. As of this date, the company’s charter capital was VND 80 billion, equivalent to 8 million shares.
After the change in the legal representative, Mr. Le Hong Phuong requested Mr. Tran Quoc Tan to hand over work-related documents, books, records, assets, debts, and other matters to the new management, but Mr. Tan and the former board of directors did not comply.
Mr. Phuong stated that he was repeatedly prevented from entering the company’s headquarters, and the entire premises were occupied and illegally managed by Tan Tan Trading – Production – Cultivation One-Member Limited Company, owned by Mr. Tran Quoc Gia Phuoc, Mr. Tran Quoc Tan’s son. Mr. Phuong reported the incident to the authorities, but it has not been resolved yet.
According to the Board of Directors’ report, Tan Tan had tax arrears of nearly VND 61.8 billion as of January 31, 2024, and social insurance debts of nearly VND 6.3 billion as of March 2024. The company also had debts to creditors according to more than 50 court judgments that have already taken effect but have not been resolved.
Tan Tan was also sued by the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank (VietinBank) – Branch 8, which seized about 2/5 of the company’s assets. Additionally, the company is being sued by the Vietnam Foreign Trade Bank (Vietcombank) – Ho Chi Minh City Branch at the People’s Court of District 1 to seize the remaining assets of the company. As of March 31, 2023, Tan Tan also had debts of nearly VND 27.6 billion to VID Public Bank – Binh Duong Branch, which have been classified as bad debts and overdue.
Furthermore, Mr. Le Hong Phuong discovered documents indicating that during their management of Tan Tan, Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, Ms. Chau Ngoc Phung, and Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan had used the company’s name to engage in circular transactions with signs of fraud involving family-owned companies (Sing Sing Joint Stock Company, Trân Châu Import-Export Production Trading Service Co., Ltd., Tan Tan Trading – Production – Cultivation One-Member Limited Company, Tan Tan Tra Vinh Joint Stock Company, etc.). These transactions were allegedly used to withdraw bank loans, purchase goods without payment, and withdraw money from Tan Tan, with signs of asset appropriation.
Finally, the General Meeting of Shareholders of Tan Tan decided to consider and handle the responsibilities of Mr. Tran Quoc Tan, Ms. Chau Ngoc Phung, and Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, as well as their compensation obligations for the damages caused to Tan Tan and its shareholders. It is worth noting that all the documents of the meeting were signed and sealed by Mr. Le Hong Phuong with the new seal of the company, which was changed on January 25, 2024.
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How much of Tan Tan’s assets remain? According to the published financial statements for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023, Tan Tan did not disclose detailed business indicators. However, the undistributed after-tax profit at the end of 2023 was negative, with a value of nearly VND 2 billion, equivalent to owner’s equity of over VND 78 billion. On the balance sheet, Tan Tan’s total assets remained at VND 371.3 billion. Short-term assets accounted for the largest proportion, at nearly VND 234 billion, including trading securities worth VND 95.3 billion, short-term receivables from customers of VND 87.5 billion, inventory of VND 39.4 billion, and cash of just over VND 157 million. On the other side of the balance sheet, the company’s liabilities as of the end of 2023 were more than VND 293.3 billion, mainly short-term debts, including loan balances of over VND 160.5 billion. |
The Manh
