The $100 Billion Mekolor High-Speed Rail Proposal: Examining the “Case Studies” of Half-a-Quadrillion Dong Enterprise Registrations and the Phu Quoc Space Tourism Port

Company Proposing $100 Billion High-Speed Railway Project Reported a Profit of… $100

The proposal from the Mekolor and Great USA consortium to self-finance a $100 billion investment in the North-South high-speed railway project has attracted significant public attention.

According to business registration data, Mekolor Joint Stock Company was established in 2016. Mr. Vo Xuan Truong (born in 1980) is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and legal representative.

The company’s charter capital is VND 1 billion, headquartered in Can Tho city. Updates on the National Business Registration System have not recorded any changes in the company’s charter capital since its establishment.

The latest information from the Business Registration Office, Can Tho Finance Department, also shows that Mekolor is still operating normally.

In addition, a report submitted by the company to the business registration management agency revealed that Mekolor recorded a profit of over VND 1 million in 2019, while in 2020 and 2021, it incurred losses of VND 2.7 million and VND 8 million, respectively. The reported figures did not include revenue. Moreover, tax information also indicated that the company only employed four people.

Regarding the company’s financial situation, Mr. Vo Xuan Truong assured that the “project capital is a separate matter.” He affirmed that they would self-finance and demonstrate sufficient cash flow for the project, guaranteeing 100% of the required $100 billion from investment funds under Great Core Fund and Mekolor Capital, which are part of the Mekolor and Great USA ecosystem.

Additionally, the consortium committed to operating the project within five years of obtaining a clean site, with a 49-year operation period. They also pledged to employ approximately 95% Vietnamese personnel and collaborate with qualified domestic contractors and manufacturers as per regulations.

Current laws do not prohibit companies from proposing investments. However, the proposed $100 billion for this project is an enormous amount. Even some of the largest corporations in the country with substantial financial capabilities have only proposed to invest in the high-speed railway project with 20% self-financing.

Mekolor, a small-scale company with meager profits of a few million VND in recent years, has proposed a $100 billion high-speed railway project, reminiscent of previous “blockbuster” proposals, including a company registering for a capital of VND 500,000 billion and the Space Tourism Port in Phu Quoc.

Company Registered with Capital of VND 500,000 Billion Dissolved After 6 Months Despite Owner’s Assertion of “No Exaggeration”

In early 2022, the National Business Registration Portal published the dissolution notices of two companies owned by Mr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Anh. These companies attracted public attention due to their extraordinarily high registered capital of VND 500,000 billion and VND 25,000 billion, respectively.

In the business dissolution registration submitted to the Business Registration Office, Ho Chi Minh City Planning and Investment Department, Mr. Quoc Anh cited the reason as shareholders failing to pay for the subscribed shares as declared in the initial registration documents.

According to the business registration information, Mr. Quoc Anh registered to contribute VND 499,998 billion, holding 99.99% of the “super-company’s” charter capital. The remaining 1 billion VND was registered by two other shareholders.

Previously, Mr. Quoc Anh had repeatedly asserted to the media that the registered capital of VND 500,000 billion was “normal and insignificant to us.” He emphasized that his company was genuine, with real people and real business, and that the registered capital was not virtual. He stated that the company’s investment would come from large domestic and foreign investors.

Mr. Quoc Anh’s business registration raised skepticism from the beginning due to the extraordinarily high registered capital of VND 500,000 billion, surpassing that of corporations like PVN (VND 281,500 billion) and EVN (VND 194,100 billion). This figure even exceeded the combined charter capital of the top ten banks in Vietnam.

While initially asserting that he had the funds and would “definitely contribute enough capital,” Mr. Quoc Anh later declared that he “only had intellect, not money.” However, he maintained that he “didn’t exaggerate.”

A month after registering the super-company with a capital of VND 500,000 billion, Mr. Quoc Anh introduced a community e-commerce platform as the company’s product. The 8X generation director promoted the company’s application of various technologies such as automation, big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. He even set a goal of attracting three billion users.

However, with the business dissolution registration, Mr. Nguyen Vu Quoc Anh officially ended the short life of the “super-company” after just over six months.

Nearly VND 30,000 Billion Space Tourism Port in Phu Quoc

On December 27, 2021, Thaigroup sent a letter to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee of Kien Giang Province and the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Province, proposing to research, survey, and invest in the Space Tourism Port project in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province, with an investment of nearly VND 30,000 billion.

According to the information disclosed at that time, only space superpowers like the US, Russia, Japan, and China have commercial spaceports. While Southeast Asian countries have a pressing need, they have not been able to develop such infrastructure. Building a spaceport for tourism purposes would be a historic breakthrough, bringing significant benefits to Vietnam’s tourism industry and socio-economic development in the future.

With the aspiration to contribute to the development of Phu Quoc into an international-standard tourism and service center and elevate Vietnam to the ranks of space superpowers, Thaigroup requested the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Province to soon allow the group to research, survey, and propose investing in the Space Tourism Port project in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province, with a total investment of approximately VND 30,000 billion.

Thaigroup (formerly known as Xuan Thanh Group) is a large-scale private economic group with diverse business sectors and a nationwide presence. They boast strong financial capabilities and extensive experience in constructing key national projects, such as cement plants in Quang Nam, Ha Nam, and Binh Phuoc, with a total investment of nearly VND 40,000 billion; the Kim Lien – Shilla Hotel Complex project (Samsung Group) in Dong Da, Hanoi, with a scale of 3.5 hectares and a total investment of over VND 10,000 billion; and the Enclave Phu Quoc Resort Complex project (Phase 1) in Phu Quoc, with a total investment of VND 9,810 billion.

Regarding the nearly VND 30,000 billion Space Tourism Port project in Phu Quoc, there has been no official information disclosed about its progress since its proposal amid much controversy.