Thai Investors Acquire Over 94% Stake in Vietnam’s Long-Standing Packaging Firm, Prompting Delisting Request

According to the documents for the upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of shareholders scheduled for December 15th, the Board of Directors of Bien Hoa Packaging Joint Stock Company (Sovi) will propose the revocation of its public company status. This decision stems from the current shareholder structure no longer meeting the requirements of the Securities Law.

Specifically, as of the shareholder list cutoff date of November 18, 2025, the largest shareholder, TCG Solutions Pte. Ltd. (a member of Thai Containers Group under Thailand’s SCG Corporation), holds 12.07 million SVI shares, equivalent to 94.11% of the charter capital. The remaining shares held by minority shareholders account for only 5.89%, failing to meet the condition of “at least 10% of voting shares held by a minimum of 100 investors who are not major shareholders.”

Once approved by the EGM, Sovi will proceed with the necessary procedures to revoke its public company status with the State Securities Commission, delist all SVI shares from the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE), and deregister securities with the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSDC). Notably, SVI has been listed on HOSE since March 2012 and is a prominent player in the Southern packaging industry with a history dating back to 1968.

A significant shift in Sovi’s ownership structure occurred in late 2020 through a high-profile acquisition by Thai investors. TCG Solutions invested nearly VND 2.1 trillion to acquire shares, elevating its ownership to the current dominant level. Following this transaction, the company’s senior leadership was entirely overhauled, with the current Board of Directors predominantly comprising Thai and Japanese executives appointed by SCG. The incumbent Chairman of the Board is Mr. Jakjit Klomsing, who also serves as SCG’s Executive Director of Packaging.

Despite being under the ownership of a financially robust foreign entity, Sovi’s recent financial performance reveals a stark contrast between revenue and profit. Revenue has consistently reached new highs, peaking at VND 1.88 trillion in 2022 before adjusting to around VND 1.5 trillion in 2023-2024. However, net profit has shown a downward trend compared to the peak of VND 146 billion achieved in 2020. In 2024, the company’s profit stood at VND 76 billion, the lowest in six years.

The profit decline continued into 2025, with the first nine months reporting a meager net profit of VND 26 billion, the lowest in over 15 years and only 26% of the annual target. Management attributed this primarily to a sharp decline in finished product prices coupled with rising input costs (paper rolls), eroding profit margins. Nonetheless, the company’s financial health remains stable, with bank deposits nearing VND 550 billion as of September-end.

A rare bright spot is the consistent cash dividend policy. Since SCG took control (2020-2024), the dividend rate has ranged from 18% to 26%, yielding over VND 106 billion in cash dividends for the parent group during this period.

In the stock market, news of the delisting has significantly impacted investor sentiment. Despite lackluster earnings, SVI’s share price surged over 23% in the latest trading week, closing at VND 55,600 per share on November 24th. However, liquidity remains extremely low, averaging less than 300 units per session, reflecting the concentrated ownership structure.