Vietcombank CEO's brother unexpectedly runs for the Board of Directors of SMC, a steel company older than Hoa Phat

SMC Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company (ticker: SMC) has announced the Board of Directors’ resolution on the list of eligible candidates for the election of members to the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board for the 2026–2031 term.

Candidates for the 2026–2031 Board and Supervisory Board

For the Board of Directors, SMC nominated five candidates: Pham Hoang Anh (born 1991, current Chairman of the Board), Kishimoto Hideki (born 1973), Nguyen Ngoc Dang Khoa (born 1991), Le Quang Hai (born 1979) and Hoang Trung Dung (born 1987).

For the Supervisory Board, SMC nominated three candidates: Dang Thi Thu Trang (born 1980), Thai Thi Van Anh (born 1977) and Le Thi Thanh Huyen (born 1991).

Le Quang Hai (born 1979) is described as the younger brother of Le Quang Vinh (born 1976), who currently serves as CEO of Vietcombank. Hai previously worked as Consulting Director at Mekong Securities (2009–2011) and as Consulting Director at VPBank Securities (2011–2021). He also held the position of Project Office – Finance at VPBank (2012–2023). From 2016–2023, Hai served as Head of the Audit Committee at FE Credit, a VPBank subsidiary.

Background and recent performance

SMC was previously described as a leading enterprise in steel trading with 37 years of history. The article notes that at its peak, SMC’s revenue surpassed 21,000 billion VND and after-tax profit exceeded 900 billion VND.

Since the Covid-19 period, SMC’s business results declined, and the company recorded losses at times, including accumulated losses of over 400 billion VND. Starting in 2025, SMC began restructuring to revive operations. By the end of 2025, the company reported net profit of nearly 200 billion VND, while revenue fell to the lowest level since 2010, at over 7,000 billion VND.

2026 targets and shareholder meeting materials

SMC has published materials for its 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for April 24, 2026. For 2026, the company targets consolidated revenue of about 7,000 billion VND, roughly flat year-on-year. Projected after-tax profit is about 30 billion VND, an 85% decline from 2025.

SMC also expects steel product sales volume of about 420,000 tons, approximately 9% lower than the same period.

Restructuring plan and capital proposals

SMC said it will continue “robust and decisive” corporate restructuring, with priorities including accelerating digital transformation and restructuring, and reorganizing to emphasize steel trading and processing activities.

The company also aims to improve its debt and capital structure, raise capital and human resources to enhance operating efficiency. In addition, SMC proposed increasing charter capital through multiple channels, including a rights issue to existing shareholders and a private placement. The funds raised are intended mainly to reduce financial pressure and increase capital at subsidiaries.

Beyond the steel sector, SMC plans to expand into areas the company considers to have potential, including digital infrastructure, housing, renewable energy, and green logistics.

Share status update and trading price

Positive information for shareholders came after HoSE notified that SMC shares would be removed from warning status as of April 13, 2026. The notification cites undistributed profits as of December 31, 2025 of 40.49 billion VND and an unqualified (clean) audit opinion for the 2025 consolidated financial statements.

SMC also addressed the reasons that led to the stock’s warning status. At the close on April 10, SMC traded at 13,350 VND per share.