PRE-LISTING NOTE – F88

F88 INVESTMENT JS COMPANY (UPCOM: F88)

On Friday, August 8, F88 will list 8.26 million shares on UpCoM. The reference price for the first trading session is set at VND 634,900 per share (equivalent to a market capitalization of VND 5.244 trillion), notably lower than the indicative OTC price of over VND 1 million per share. Therefore, F88 will likely increase sharply in the first trading session to match market expectations. If F88 hit the ceiling price of 40%, corresponding to VND 888,800 per share, the estimated trailing P/E is 20.1x and current P/B is 3.8x.

F88’s business results are on a favorable path. In Q2/25, F88 posted revenue of VND 925 billion (+30% y/y) and PBT of VND 189 billion (+220% y/y). This strong result was driven by 45% y/y loan growth and a reduction in credit loss to 2.35% (-62 bps y/y) in Q2/25. Estimated ROA stands at 7% and ROE at 21%.

F88’s market share still has plenty of room for expansion. By the end of Q2/25, F88 operated 888 stores, a modest figure compared with the 25,000 pawnshop outlets nationwide. Its loan book of VND 4,379 billion accounts for only 2% of the estimated VND 200,000 billion alternative finance market.

Vietnam’s alternative finance segment remains largely untapped. Loan balances in this segment currently represent only 1.2% of total banking system’s credit, compared with about 35% in Thailand (Reuters). According to FiinGroup, Vietnam’s alternative finance market recorded a 20% CAGR during 2019–2024, while the new-gen pawnshop subsegment, such as F88, grew at 53% CAGR. With roughly 50% of the population – mainly mass and low-income customers – still lacking access to bank credit, the alternative finance sector offers substantial growth potential.

Some concerns remain inherent in this high-risk sector, such as F88’s high leverage (3x) and cyclical sensitivity previously resulted in a VND 627 billion loss during a challenging period of 2023. That said, given the large untapped market and rising credit demand amid Vietnam’s economic growth, F88 stands out as an interesting investment case for the stock market in 2025.