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Viet Steel Co., Ltd. (Viet Steel) has reported a divestment transaction related to its stake in Pomina Steel Joint Stock Company (POM).
From March 20 to April 17, Viet Steel sold 4.18 million shares of the 7.5 million POM shares registered for transfer. Viet Steel was unable to complete the sale of all registered shares because the transaction price did not meet expectations.
Following the transaction, Viet Steel reduced its holding in POM from more than 146.3 million shares (52.54%) to 142.14 million shares (51.03% of Pomina’s charter capital).
Since the start of 2026, POM shares have been volatile, rising in January and then falling sharply in early April. During the divestment period, POM traded between VND 3,900 and VND 4,200 per share.
Based on an estimated price of VND 4,200 per share, Viet Steel earned more than VND 17 billion from the deal.
Viet Steel disclosed that the transaction aims to fulfill a debt repayment obligation on behalf of Pomina.
This is not Viet Steel’s first attempt to divest from Pomina without success. Earlier, from January 19, 2026 to February 13, 2026, Viet Steel also failed to sell 7.5 million registered POM shares for the same reason: the price did not meet expectations. As a result, Viet Steel retained its ownership.
Viet Steel Trading and Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was founded by the family of Mr. Do Duy Thai, Chairman of Pomina’s Board, who is also currently the CEO.
Pomina plans to hold its General Meeting of Shareholders on May 4, 2026, focusing on a comprehensive restructuring plan. The meeting will also consider other matters within its authority to guide operations in the coming period.
Pomina’s restructuring comes as the company faces financial difficulties. For full-year 2025, Pomina reported net revenue of more than VND 2,189 billion, down 6.3% year-on-year from 2024. The company posted a net loss after tax of more than VND 838.2 billion, with the loss narrowing by 15.5% compared with 2024.
The four-year loss streak has pushed Pomina’s equity into negative territory, reaching VND 623 billion as of December 31, 2025.
As of December 31, 2025, Pomina’s total assets decreased 10.5% year-on-year to about VND 8,863.8 billion. Long-term construction in progress accounted for about VND 5,716.2 billion, or 64.5% of total assets.
On the liabilities side, total liabilities were more than VND 9,487.4 billion, down 1.6% from the beginning of the year. Borrowings and financial lease obligations totaled VND 5,966.2 billion, representing 62.9% of total debt, including more than VND 4,000 billion from banks such as VietinBank, BIDV, and Vietcombank. These borrowings are secured by land-use rights, factory assets, and Pomina shares.
Pomina previously recorded strong earnings, with profits historically ranging from VND 400–700 billion. After a boom cycle, profits declined and losses intensified. The company cited factors including lack of capital, rapid investment expansion, and operational constraints that led to frequent idling of the blast furnace—one of the reasons Pomina has experienced a four-year loss cycle since Q2 2022.
From 2023 onward, Pomina has sought strategic investors. The company previously aimed to sell 51% to Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (NSSMC), a partner with more than 10 years of cooperation, valued at USD 58.9 million. The transaction did not proceed due to foreign ownership transfer restrictions, prompting Pomina to look for domestic investors and funds.
Pomina then explored a potential partnership with THACO Industries. However, the two sides did not reach a satisfactory outcome. Pomina explained that THACO is a professional investor but not yet deeply familiar with the steel industry. Before signing, THACO wanted to review plant operations, especially the blast furnace. THACO also aims to produce steel billets for construction and specialty steels for automotive manufacturing, which would require time and extend the collaboration timeline.
Pomina also recently disclosed plans to cooperate with VNSteel, which it views as a professional partner in steelmaking. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2024 to form a joint venture. Pomina hopes to finalize cooperation in Q1 2026, but no specific financial or operational commitments have been announced.
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