Hanoi (VNA) - Theconglomerate VinGroup will sell its entire ownership in the logistics servicefirm Phat Loc Express and Trading JSC (Phat Loc Express), VinGroup said in astatement. According to the statement, whichwas released in early December, VinGroup will sell nearly eight million sharesor nearly 80 percent of the chartered capital in Phat Loc Express to withdrawits entire stake in the logistics service firm. The buyer is believed to belogistics firm Sagawa Express Co Ltd, a member of Japan-based SG Holdings,according to a report on the Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Asian Review reported that SGHoldings will purchase VinGroup’s eight million shares in Phat Loc Express for9 million USD, equal to Phat Loc Express’ sales made in 2015. VinGroup has yet to release furtherinformation about the deal. Phat Loc Express, formerly known asVinlinks, was founded in 2001 and is now the fifth-largest logistics firm in Vietnam.The company was acquired by VinGroup in July 2015 after the giant real estateand retail group bought nearly 80 percent of shares from Hop NhatInternational Express JSC. SG Holdings has operated in Vietnamvia a local subsidiary since 2012, handled its deliveries in HCM City and Hanoi,and contracted local logistics firms for other areas. The deal between SGHoldings and VinGroup could be an important step for the Japanese logisticsfirm to expand its market share in the domestic market. VinGroup is a giant group, operatingin the real estate and retail sectors. The company has also expanded itsbusiness in online sales and logistics businesses. In the past quarter, VinGroup recorded10.65 trillion VND (473.3 million USD) in revenue and 175 billion VND in netprofit. In the first nine months, the company’s revenue rose 80 percent year onyear to 34.65 trillion VND, and its post-tax profit tripled from last year’sfigure to 3.1 trillion VND. In late November, VinGroup andSagawa signed a delivery and logistics cooperation agreement to develop andenhance the delivery capability of VinGroup. The cooperative agreement willprovide comprehensive logistics solutions for VinGroup to improve its logisticsservices and help the Vietnamese real estate group get access to modernmanagement software, expected to optimise transportation solutions. — VNA