This is the information shared by Mr. Tran Dinh Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat Group at the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held this morning.

Hoa Phat approaches VinFast, Thaco, Thanh Cong

Specifically, answering a shareholder's question about the possibility of cooperating with VinFast in supplying steel for electric vehicles, Chairman Tran Dinh Long said that Hoa Phat has been proactively approaching many businesses in the automobile and transportation industry, not just VinFast.

“We have done it, not only VinFast but also contacted Thanh Cong, Thaco, and the entire Vietnamese railway industry,” he said.

According to Mr. Long, strengthening the connection between private enterprises is one of the tasks assigned by the Government. In the coming years, Hoa Phat will focus on producing high-quality steel to serve the end-use industries, including automobiles and railways.

The Chairman of Hoa Phat affirmed that the type of steel used for car frames and bodies is not too difficult to produce. However, he also frankly pointed out a major obstacle: the number of orders from domestic enterprises is currently very low.

Also at the meeting, Mr. Long said that Hoa Phat had just been assigned a large plot of land by Phu Yen province, which can be said to be “the last piece of land in Vietnam” that is qualified to build a steel factory. The land has a scale of 500 hectares, facing the sea and the group is currently planning a systematic investment here.

Regarding the order to produce steel rails for high-speed railway and urban railway projects, Chairman Tran Dinh Long said that in September 2024, the Government proposed that Hoa Phat research and produce high-quality rails for future high-speed train routes. Based on its existing capacity, the group decided to implement the rail production project at Dung Quat 2 with an investment scale of VND 14,000 billion.

According to plan, the factory will break ground next May and the first order is expected to ship in May 2027.

Regarding railway projects connecting Vietnam and China, Hoa Phat Chairman said that each specific project needs to be carefully considered before deciding to participate.

Mr. Long also shared a positive signal that the Ministry of Construction is submitting to the Government a mechanism for assigning orders and specific tasks to large enterprises, including Hoa Phat.

Prioritize domestic market, export less than 20% of output

Sharing about the agricultural sector - a field once considered outside of Hoa Phat's "area of ​​expertise", Mr. Long frankly admitted: "We come from the city, not much contact with agriculture. When we first started working, many people said Hoa Phat could not do it."

However, after many years of persistent investment, the Chairman of Hoa Phat affirmed that agriculture is the sector with the highest profit margin of Hoa Phat in 2024, even surpassing many long-standing agricultural enterprises.

Sharing with shareholders about the exchange rate situation, General Director of Hoa Phat Nguyen Viet Thang commented that the USD is having unpredictable developments. In case of adverse effects related to tariffs, the trade balance may be affected, thereby putting pressure on the exchange rate.

Faced with this change, Hoa Phat chose to operate flexibly, closely monitoring developments to promptly take measures to prevent risks.

“Currently, Hoa Phat exports about 20% of its output. If the exchange rate increases, it could push up costs. Whether or not this increase can be included in the selling price depends on the economy’s endurance and the government’s management,” said Mr. Thang.

In terms of long-term strategy, Hoa Phat still prioritizes the domestic market and sets the principle of keeping the export ratio below 20%. However, in times when the domestic market is facing difficulties, the company is ready to make flexible adjustments.

“Last year, our export ratio reached 31%, the highest ever. That is an immediate solution to deal with the consumption problem,” Mr. Thang said.

Hoa Phat General Director emphasized that by dividing export activities into many different markets, businesses will limit tariff risks from individual markets.

Source: https://znews.vn/chu-tich-hoa-phat-tiet-lo-ke-hoach-bat-tay-vinfast-thaco-post1546330.html