VinFast seeks US$250 million bank loan to build plant in Indonesia

VINFAST Auto, a Vietnamese electric vehicle maker, is looking for a bank loan of about US$250 million to fund construction of its assembly plant in Subang in Indonesia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company, a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup and controlled by the country’s richest person Pham Nhat Vuong, has approached banks in Indonesia for either a US dollar-denominated loan or one issued in the local currency, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Its talks with banks underscore the startup’s ambition to expand regionally to compete with other global EV makers, a market that has become highly competitive with deep price cuts that are eating into the sector’s earnings.

Having launched its first model five years ago, VinFast will continue to have Vuong’s support until he runs “out of money,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview last month.

A VinFast spokesperson declined to comment specifically on whether the company is seeking the loan. BLOOMBERG