Photo: BIG Investment Group JSC

The off-market transfer was registered on September 9 in Ho Chi Minh City. The move is intended to solidify a strategic partnership between the two firms and gives Brookland Group & Partners a major shareholding in the Vietnamese multi-sector investment group.

The move is the first step in a partnership under which Brookland will deploy up to $10 million into the group as it completes its transition from the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HSX).

Huy Vo, founder and CEO of BIG Investment Group JSC, registered on September 7 to sell more than 1.3 million shares in a negotiated (put-through) transaction running from September 9 to October 8. The sale transfers shares directly to Brookland rather than diluting the company through new issuance, protecting shareholder value while keeping the transaction off the open market.

The move follows the strategic shareholder agreement signed September 2, under which Brookland committed to hold at least 2 million BIG shares, becoming a major shareholder through negotiated purchases from existing holders.

On completion, Huy will retain 5.5 million shares, more than 16 per cent of shares outstanding, remaining BIG's largest shareholder.

Brookland Group, with 35 years of experience, operations in 24 countries and more than $12 billion of capital deployed across multiple investment cycles. Having first acquired existing shares to formally become a major shareholder, the firm intends to participate in BIG's future new share issuances, taking its total planned deployment to $10 million, double the $5 million commitment announced in August.

The capital will fund three areas: acceleration of commercial property projects in the central Mekong Delta; expansion of upscale hotels and restaurants under an international-standard nightlife and food and beverages model in central Ho Chi Minh City; and strengthened agricultural export supply chains to support large-volume orders and stable foreign currency revenue.

Brookland's deepening stake comes with governance implications. BIG's management plans to nominate a Brookland representative for election as an Independent Board Director at the company's next shareholders' meeting, a move expected to help standardise governance and improve transparency for all shareholders ahead of the planned HSX listing next quarter.

Vo said the company remains open to strategic capital from international investment funds on the principle of partnership and shared value, raising its governance to international standards and creating sustainable added value for every shareholder as it pursues its larger ambitions.

BIG shares currently trade at roughly 2.0x 2025 earnings, with a track record of consistent profit growth, as the company consolidates its structure as a holding group over cash-generative member businesses.

Strengthening its senior leadership, alongside financial backing from an international institution, is a central step towards meeting the regulator's stringent criteria and formally moving the company's shares from UPCoM to HSX.

Vietnam is entering a pivotal stretch. FTSE Russell's reclassification of the country to secondary emerging market status takes effect on September 21. Regulators have set a year-end deadline for all UPCoM and Hanoi Stock Exchange listed companies to move up to HSX.