Le Hong Minh, the founder of VNG Corp, Vietnam's first tech unicorn, has returned as the company's chairman after a period of turbulence. On November 22, Minh took over the role of chairman and legal representative from Vo Sy Nhan, according to a company announcement. Minh will also step down as CEO to comply with legal requirements.
Minh founded Vinagame, VNG’s predecessor, in 2004 and was honored as one of the 10 most influential internet leaders in Vietnam in 2007-2017, according to the announcement.
Minh, one of the largest shareholders of VNG, was chairman and CEO of the company from 2004 to 2022. Nhan became VNG’s chairman in December 2022. He is now COO of Empire City, co-founder and CEO of GAWN NP Capital fund.
VNG said it earned revenue of VND6,982 billion ($274.64 million) and operating income of VND202 billion in the first nine months of this year.
VNG became the first tech unicorn in Vietnam in 2014 and was valued at $2.2 billion in 2019 by Temasek, an investment fund of the Singaporean government.
On September 6, Ho Chi Minh City police conducted a search at VNG’s headquarters in District 7. Following the search, VNG's shares, listed on UPCoM as VNZ, dropped 13% to VND450,000 ($17.7) per share before recovering to VND470,000 in afternoon trading. Additionally, VNG announced the appointment of Deputy CEO Kelly Wong as acting CEO.
In a release the same day, VNG said “the abrupt inspection was going on” and that VNG was cooperating with the police. “Operations at the company’s headquarters go on as usual”, it affirmed.