Bau Duc: From now on, it's a bit difficult to find bad things about Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

(Dan Tri) - Mr. Duc wants to lead Hoang Anh Gia Lai back to its golden age in 2008, erase all debts, and not invest in a wide range of industries. Mr. Duc also plans to grow mulberry and raise silkworms...

Erase the "pain" of debt

This morning (June 6), Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (stock code: HAG) held the 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders.

One of the hotly discussed contents is the plan for this enterprise to issue a maximum of 210 million shares to convert group B bond debt worth VND2,520 billion.

The proposed issuance price is VND12,000/share, with transfer restrictions for one year from the date of issuance completion. The expected implementation time is in 2025, after approval from the State Securities Commission.

According to the announcement, the group of bond creditors includes 7 organizations and individuals. Of which, the largest creditor is Huong Viet Investment Consulting Joint Stock Company, with a debt value of nearly 721 billion VND.

Regarding Huong Viet, Mr. Duc has nominated a candidate for the position of Independent Member of the Board of Directors for the new term with Ms. Ha Khiet Tran. Ms. Tran is the Capital Investment Director of Huong Viet.

Speaking to shareholders about this debt swap plan, Mr. Duc explained that the conversion is to handle bond debt. If this plan is approved by shareholders, Hoang Anh Gia Lai will reduce its debt by up to 4,000 billion VND.

The group's chairman said that for many years, mentioning Hoang Anh Gia Lai meant mentioning debt, and no one cared about loan applications. "That's the pain. My goal for many years has been to pay off all debt and erase accumulated losses. In the past 9 years, the company has achieved 97% and is still a few percent away from completion."

Therefore, Mr. Duc hopes that shareholders will support Hoang Anh Gia Lai to completely resolve its debt problem. He also expects the group's financial report at the end of this year to be "extremely beautiful".

Mr. Duc expressed his confidence that Hoang Anh Gia Lai will turn a new page (Photo: HAG).

In issuing debt-convertible shares, Mr. Duc did not deny that the shares would be diluted. However, he promised to restore the value of the shares by buying back treasury shares and canceling them, aiming for an initial capitalization of VND9,200 billion. At the same time, Hoang Anh Gia Lai will only pay dividends in cash if there is profit.

Mr. Duc is also confident: "From this year onwards, it is quite difficult to find the bad things about Hoang Anh Gia Lai." He wants to lead the group back to its golden age in 2008 based on the expectation that from now on the business will grow, be solid, and not diversify.

Growing mulberry and raising silkworms, developing coffee and tea growing areas

Bananas are one of Hoang Anh Gia Lai's main products, but last year they could not plant an additional 2,000 hectares as planned. Mr. Duc said the problem was due to problems with capital sources and failed mobilization, so it could not be implemented.

In addition to bananas, the group's pig farming is also facing a similar situation, when short-term capital is having problems. Therefore, pig sales in 2024 are very low while pig prices are very good.

However, in the long term, by 2030, Mr. Duc said Hoang Anh Gia Lai will develop 30,000 hectares of various trees.

At this congress, Mr. Duc announced for the first time a completely new plan with 4,000 hectares of coffee and 2,000 hectares of mulberry for silk, aiming for export.

Specifically, this year, Hoang Anh Gia Lai will invest in 2,000 hectares of mulberry for silk production. This type of tree has been tested since the end of 2024 and the current indicators have been completed. The enterprise aims to grow mulberry for silkworm breeding, silk production and export.

Regarding coffee, Mr. Duc said he plans to plant 2,000 hectares of coffee this year and another 2,000 hectares next year, for a total of 4,000 hectares.

The difference is that Hoang Anh Gia Lai chooses the Arabica coffee variety, which is only found in Cau Dat (Da Lat) and some areas in Dien Bien , requiring an altitude of over 1,000m. The Group will plant it on the red soil plateau of Laos.

According to Mr. Duc, Arabica coffee is currently priced at 9,000 USD/ton, double that of regular coffee and Vietnam only has 10% of the area planted with this type. Another reason is that strawberries or coffee have a short cultivation and harvest time (7 months for strawberries, 2 years for Arabica coffee - only 1/3 of the time of durian), making it easy to create a continuous cash flow.

Special treatment policy for employees with over 10 years of dedication

Another content that the chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai is pleased with is the plan to issue 12 million bonus shares to employees (ESOP).

Mr. Duc expressed that Hoang Anh Gia Lai has been struggling from extreme difficulties in 2016, losing liquidity, to today. From an accumulated loss of 7,000 billion VND, the group is moving towards ending the loss, from a debt of 32,000 billion VND that is being restructured to about 3,000-4,000 billion VND. This drastic process of rising up is the effort of the collective, not just any individual. Without the workers, there would be no Hoang Anh Gia Lai today.

According to Mr. Duc, the group develops farms and ranches in remote areas, in difficult and isolated places. Workers have to accept a life far from their wives and children, without vehicles, and without work for a whole year... There are difficult times when they do not receive their salary for 5-6 months but do not leave the company.

Therefore, he sent his thanks and gratitude to the workers in the "fronts" of Laos and Cambodia. Without their silent dedication, Hoang Anh Gia Lai would have been wiped out.

Mr. Duc hopes that shareholders will vote to approve this proposal. He even declared that if shareholders do not approve, he will use his own money to thank these staff.

However, Mr. Duc also stated that ESOP shares have strict conditions such as employees must dedicate 10 years, contribute to the group, and limit transfer for 5 years.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/bau-duc-tu-nay-tro-di-tim-cai-xau-cua-hoang-anh-gia-lai-hoi-kho-20250606112927489.htm