Gelex CEO said that the group does not focus on quick M&A, but emphasizes compatibility in factors of management, financial and human resources capacity.
Gelex Group Joint Stock Company (GEX) today held the 2024 annual shareholder meeting. General Director Nguyen Van Tuan shared about the future direction of this group.
This year, shareholders' questions mainly revolved around Gelex's corporate governance issues, instead of sideline information like last year.
2023 – the turning point year for this group in business when they increase cooperation with international partners. Gelex established a joint venture with Frasers to deploy industrial parks in the North, with a total investment of about 6.000 billion VND in the first phase. The group also worked with Sembcorp to transfer part of its energy segment.
This year, Mr. Tuan said, Gelex focuses on cooperating with major partners, looking for suitable mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals. However, unlike before, this group changed the criteria from "fast" to "appropriate" when making mergers and acquisitions.
“Gelex does not prioritize quick acquisitions, but at this time prioritizes compatibility with the group. We realize that if we want to go far, we need to build a solid foundation in management. Investment opportunities need to come with appropriate capacity, finance and human resources," Mr. Tuan said.
With the member business group, Gelex's orientation also focuses on management change, especially for units with advantages like Cadivi. This is to develop advantageous subsidiaries, seek opportunities to cooperate with foreign partners and transfer technology to higher value production areas.
CEO Nguyen Van Tuan at Gelex annual meeting 2024, held on March 28. Image: Minh Son
Gelex's investment portfolio will also continue to be restructured this year. In particular, the electrical equipment segment, industrial park infrastructure development and industrial real estate, and renewable energy are identified as top priorities.
With the industrial park real estate segment, Gelex plans to change its factory and infrastructure investment model to an industrial city integrating ecological urban areas. The Group also expects to develop social housing projects, develop land funds, and invest in commercial and resort housing projects.
In response to shareholders' questions about why Gelex withdrew some member companies from the stock exchange, while listing conditions are increasingly strict, many businesses "want to go up but cannot", Mr. Tuan said. This is the corporation's strategy.
According to CEO Gelex, this group currently holds the majority of shares in key member businesses, 75-90%, and has a long-term investment orientation, so these codes do not have high payout rates. However, because these companies are listed, periodic information disclosure and the organization of the General Meeting of Shareholders still have to be carried out, although many times only Gelex participates.
"Getting these businesses off the floor to focus entirely on production and business," Mr. Tuan said.
Regarding divestment of wind power segment, Chairman of the Board of Directors Nguyen Trong Hien added that this plan is part of the group's strategy, but "is not a complete divestment". That is, Gelex only divested part of its energy portfolio to find and select partners to accompany in the next projects. Currently, this group's energy investment portfolio is nearly 3.500 MW, including wind and solar power.
"The wave of investment in renewable energy over the past 5 years has helped Gelex learn many lessons to deploy the next projects, so the group wants to accompany capable investors," Mr. Hien speak.
This year, Gelex targets consolidated net revenue of more than 32.300 billion VND, consolidated pre-tax profit of more than 1.900 billion VND, an increase of 7,7% and 37,5% respectively compared to the previous year.
Minh Son
