One of CAR’s educational centers. Source: CAR
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The plan to list shares was approved by CAR shareholders at the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders but could not be implemented due to the longer-than-expected time to complete the procedures for issuing shares to increase the charter capital.
CAR has also just registered and been approved for additional trading of 1.2 million shares in the additional public offering, which took place from January to April 2024; increasing the number of freely transferable shares from July 16, 2024, to more than 5 million units, including the issuance of 640,000 shares to pay dividends.
The company offered 3.2 million shares at a price of VND 10,000 per share but only distributed more than 1.2 million units to 23 shareholders. The remaining 1.98 million shares were canceled after the deadline on April 3, 2024.
With only about VND 12 billion in proceeds, CAR adjusted its capital usage plan. Accordingly, the company invested VND 4 billion in a joint venture for an experiential education area, instead of the previous VND 2 billion; and spent VND 8.1 billion on the purchase of teaching equipment and materials to organize experiential activities in the provinces.
CAR shares were listed on the UPCoM since July 2022, with an initial price of VND 11,000 per share. The market price peaked at around VND 23,500 per share about four months ago before continuously falling to VND 19,500 per share. Liquidity has also narrowed to just a few dozen shares per session, while the average for the previous one and a half years was about 5,800 units.
| Price movement of CAR shares from the beginning of 2024 up to now |
CAR was established in 2013 with a charter capital of just over VND 1.65 billion. The company specializes in investing in training projects, researching, constructing and developing training products and services on life skills, soft skills, STEM, robotics, and experiential education…
In 2020, CAR’s charter capital reached VND 32 billion after two issuances to existing shareholders in 2017 (increasing to VND 3.5 billion) and 2018.
The company’s 2021 prospectus shows that the founding shareholders have fully divested, including Vietnam Asia Training Joint Stock Company, Research and Development of ARD Technology Joint Stock Company, and Vietnam Talented Youth Training Joint Stock Company; only Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang holds 1.2%.
By the end of 2021, Nguyen Thuy Thuong, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, and her family members owned 67.9% of CAR’s capital, of which Ms. Thuong held 34.5%. At the same time, Diamond Investment and Consulting Joint Stock Company reduced its ownership from 61.5% to 0%. In 2022, Ms. Thuong divested, holding 25.14%; meanwhile, Fibo Invest Joint Stock Company and Investment and Consulting Joint Stock Company IB Plus became shareholders after increasing their holdings to 24% and 14.2%, respectively.
In the first half of 2024, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong bought more shares in the issuance to existing shareholders but sold them later, holding 15.9% as of the end of June. The session on May 3 recorded a matched transaction equal to the total selling volume of the Chairwoman and Chief Accountant Dao Thi Thanh Ha. The total transaction value was about VND 22.3 billion, equivalent to VND 19,900 per share, 14% lower than the closing price of that day.
 Sale transactions of Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong and Chief Accountant Dao Thi Thanh Ha in the first half of 2024. Source: CAR
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CAR is headquartered at Home City Tower, Cau Giay District, Hanoi; with Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors (since 2017) and legal representative.
Apart from being the Chairwoman of CAR, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong is also a major shareholder in several companies such as Fibo Invest Joint Stock Company and Investment and Consulting Joint Stock Company IB Plus. In May 2024, IB Plus announced that it was no longer related to Ms. Thuong as well as to other members of the company.
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong used to be a member of the Board of Directors of Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (HOSE: DCL), a member of the Board of Directors of Multi-National Investment and Development Joint Stock Company – IDI (HOSE: IDI) in the period of 2015-2018; Head of IB Room of Military Bank Securities Joint Stock Company in the period of 2006-2015.
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Thuong at the opening ceremony of CAR share trading in 2022
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Another legal representative is Ms. Pham Thi Lam Hong, who has just been appointed to replace Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong. Ms. Lam Hong is currently the General Director of SMB VN Education Company Limited and used to be the Compliance Director at Lotte Mart Vietnam in the period of 2018-2020, as well as the Organization Director at Big C Vietnam in the period of 2003-2016.
CAR’s business results have increased several times in the past six years. In 2023, revenue reached more than VND 40 billion, 3.3 times higher than in 2018, with the entire revenue coming from training service provision. Net profit in 2023 was VND 3.6 billion. The company targets revenue of VND 50.5 billion and after-tax profit of VND 5.2 billion in 2024.
According to the 2022 prospectus, CAR once invested more than VND 13 billion in 13 bonds with the code APAXHOLDINGS_BOND2020 of Apax Holdings Investment Joint Stock Company (UPCoM: IBC) in 2021, a company chaired by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy (Shark Thuy) – who was arrested and detained on charges of fraud and appropriation of property in March this year. The bonds were issued on October 1, 2020, with a term of 3 years and an interest rate of 12.5%/year but were sold by the company in the same year.
Another company of Shark Thuy was fined for “withholding information”
