Revealing the relationship between the new CEO of VinMetal and the steel giant Pomina

VinMetal General Director is Mr. Do Tien Si. Mr. Si is known as the General Director and Vice President of Pomina Steel.

Mr. Do Tien Si was appointed General Director of VinMetal - Photo: POMINA

On October 6, Vingroup announced the establishment of VinMetal Production and Trading Joint Stock Company to enter the metallurgical industry.

The company has a charter capital of 10,000 billion VND. Vingroup contributes 98%, and the two sons of billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong each contribute 1% of the capital.

The company focuses on civil steel lines in construction, hot-rolled steel, high-strength steel and special alloy steel for electric vehicle production and high-speed traffic infrastructure.

Pomina Vice President takes VinMetal hot seat

According to Vingroup, the establishment of VinMetal aims to supply material needs for the real estate sector, electric vehicle production and industrial, energy and transportation projects such as the North-South high-speed railway, the Ho Chi Minh City - Can Gio and Hanoi - Quang Ninh routes.

Recently, VinMetal decided to appoint Mr. Do Tien Si as General Director and legal representative to replace Mr. Nguyen Viet Quang - General Director of Vingroup.

Mr. Si is a veteran in the steel industry with 30 years of experience, holding the position of General Director and Vice President of Pomina Steel Joint Stock Company (Pomina). Mr. Si is the younger brother of Mr. Do Duy Thai - Chairman of Pomina.

He is also an independent member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Audit Committee of Mobile World Investment Joint Stock Company.

According to Mobile World's 2023 annual report, Mr. Si graduated with a bachelor's degree in management and marketing from Monash University (Australia), and holds a master's degree in business administration (double degree) from INSEAD University (France).

During the period 1995-2000, Mr. Si was Deputy General Director of Tay Do Steel Company and then General Director of Pomina during the period 2000-2008. He also held the position of Chairman of Pomina during the period 2022-2023 and owned more than 8.6 million POM shares, equivalent to 3.08% of charter capital.

Pomina's great pressure

Pomina's predecessor was Pomina Steel Company Limited, established in 1999 with a charter capital of 42 billion VND. In 2008, the company was equitized with a charter capital of 500 billion VND. At that time, Pomina was the largest steel factory in Vietnam. The total capacity of rolling steel billets was 1.5 million tons, and construction steel was 1.6 million tons according to the 2008 prospectus.

Pomina's main market includes the entire region from the Central region downwards, the Mekong Delta provinces, and all the Central Highlands provinces. In addition, Pomina is also the most prestigious steel distributor in Cambodia. The company has a market share of 30%.

However, after-tax profit unexpectedly decreased from 406 billion VND in 2011 to nearly 5 billion VND in 2012 due to the frozen real estate market and weak purchasing power. Financial costs increased due to long-term debt from investment in Pomina 3 factory. Market share narrowed to 15%. In 2013, the company lost 220 billion VND.

The company returned to profit in the 2015-2021 period. In 2019, the company lost 319 billion VND due to the Pomina 2 factory having an accident that stopped production for 8 months, high financial costs, and the project being behind schedule.

In the period 2022-2024, Pomina will lose nearly 1,000 billion VND per year. Revenue in the first 9 months of 2025 is 1,694 billion VND, up 7% compared to 2024. Loss after tax is 512 billion VND.

Pomina's business results from 2008 to present - Chart: NGUYEN NGUYEN

One issue mentioned by Pomina is the pressure of financial costs. At the end of 2008, the company had short-term debt of 1,122 billion VND, short-term loans and financial leases of 667 billion VND. Short-term assets were enough to meet short-term debt.

Short-term debt has been increasing continuously. Short-term loans and debts accounted for 80-90% of short-term debt in the period 2012-2020, decreasing to 62% as of September 30.

Short-term assets will only cover 51% of short-term debt by the end of 2022 and decrease to more than 20% by the end of the third quarter.

As of September 30, the company had VND1,730 billion in short-term assets and only VND22 billion in cash. Short-term debt was at VND5,508 billion, of which VND5,238 billion was short-term loans and financial leasing debt.

As of the end of the third quarter, Pomina's accumulated loss was nearly VND3,051 billion. Equity was negative nearly VND187 billion.

Pomina's short-term debt and short-term assets over the years - Source: WICHART

Pomina had many plans to restructure and improve its financial health. In 2023, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Nansei Company (Japan) on the transfer of 51% of shares. However, this deal failed due to the regulation that the maximum ownership ratio of foreign investors cannot exceed 50%.

After that, Pomina negotiated cooperation with THACO Industries but was also unsuccessful.

Recently, the Board of Directors decided to convene an extraordinary meeting scheduled for December to approve the financial report and restructuring plan.

NGUYEN NGUYEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/he-lo-moi-quan-he-giua-tan-ceo-vinmetal-va-ong-lon-nganh-thep-pomina-20251111221136239.htm