Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup spins off consumer retail arm

Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup is selling its consumer retail component, Vincommerce (VCM), to Masan Group, one of the country’s largest FMCG companies. The deal will boost both local retail players’ capacity in both brick-and-mortar and online retail.

VCM will be merged with Masan in a share-swapping deal with no cash changing hands. Masan will take control of VCM, and Vingroup will remain as a shareholder in the acquisition.

In September, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC invested USD 500 million in VCM to acquire a minority stake.

VCM operates the popular supermarket chain store Vinmart, which has more than 2,600 locations, as well as the smaller convenient store chain Vinmart+. Both have a strong presence online, with services such as the Vinmart 4.0 virtual store, which allows shoppers to browse the shop’s offering anywhere, and the Scan & Go feature that allows consumers to pay by using their phones.

Vingroup said the deal will free up its resources to focus on high-tech ventures, including high-profile automative manufacturing startup VinFast and consumer tech developer VinSmart.