Rạng Đông Holding, known for its plastic manufacturing, has temporarily suspended operations across all its subsidiaries, reflecting significant financial distress. The company's challenges intensified from mid-2024, leading to warnings from the national credit system over rising bad debts.
According to reports, Rạng Đông Holding (stock code: RDP) submitted explanations to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) about its failure to release its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2024 as well as its annual governance report. The company has faced numerous difficulties, making it unable to compile the required data for these reports, as most of its workforce has now been laid off.
The financial situation of RDP has deteriorated to such an extent since late 2024, resulting not only in bad loans but also pausing activities of its subsidiaries. Funding issues have been compounded by the announcement from NV Audit Company, which was contracted to perform the 2024 financial audit, declaring they would no longer continue under their agreement with RDP.
On February 24, 2025, RDP received resignation letters from all five members of its board of directors, compounding the challenges as no one remained to lead the company. The recently appointed chief accountant has struggled to handle the financial data compilation due to the staffing issues.
“From the stated reasons, the recovery from our delay to publish the required reports is truly impossible for our company,” said RDP’s CEO Huỳnh Kim Ngân. With this acknowledgment, RDP has promised compliance with legal sanctions as outlined by the regulatory authorities.
The company faced more than just operational challenges; it has been embroiled in legal troubles as well. Prior to the Tết Nguyên đán holiday of 2025, RDP received notice from the Ho Chi Minh People's Court about the processing of bankruptcy proceedings due to demands from one of its subsidiaries, Rạng Đông Films, of which RDP holds 97.75% of the shares. This scenario paints a bleak picture of the firm’s prospects as they grapple with their unexpected liabilities.
RDP's financial woes began to manifest more visibly with their 2023 annual losses of nearly 150 billion VND, followed by another loss of 64.5 billion VND reported for the first half of 2024. Cumulatively, these figures have resulted in over 266 billion VND in total losses alongside climbing debts—a figure surpassing 1 trillion VND across multiple loan categories. The company borrowed heavily from financial institutions, with its liabilities now exceeding 4.4 times its equity.
Rạng Đông Holding has worn its troubled financial path for quite some time. Established back in 1960, the company was known as one of Vietnam’s leading plastic manufacturers, having flourished with promising profits before transitioning to a holding model and diversifying its operations. Yet, this transformation led to tumultuous outcomes.
The company was placed under scrutiny following repeated failures to comply with financial disclosure regulations. Since November 28, 2024, RDP’s stock has been suspended from trading due to these persistent violations of regulatory mandates. On February 13, the HoSE issued another reminder for RDP to submit their management and financial reports for the year, reiterations after it had already been warned on February 5 for the same issues.
The company also incurred significant fines from the State Securities Commission for failing to disclose important financial communications such as the review reports for interim financial statements and misleading profit statements. It inaccurately reported profits for 2023, declaring earnings which were later adjusted to reflect actual losses, compounding investor concerns.
The leadership’s priorities shifted rapidly amid these challenges, focusing on their recovery strategy which includes potential divestment from non-essential financial investments to improve immediate cash flows. Unfortunately, the measures put forth have proven inadequate, and the firm's losses have persisted.
RDP’s long and steep decline serves as a cautionary tale within Vietnam’s corporate and financial landscapes. Once flourishing, Rạng Đông Holding now grapples with survival as operational setbacks collide with requirements for transparency and accountability, leaving it exposed to severe financial repercussions.
It has yet to articulate any substantive steps to restore confidence among investors, employees, or regulators, and as investigations proceed, shareholders are left wondering about their investments' futures.
With the national financial oversight tightening, RDP’s unclear path forward reflects not only its internal disarray but challenges many firms face amid a rapidly changing economic environment.