Vietnamese EV maker VinFast debuts on the Nasdaq after completing SPAC merger

Shares of Vietnamese electrical conveyance shaper VinFast began trading connected the Nasdaq connected Tuesday, pursuing completion of its merger with the U.S.-listed peculiar intent acquisition institution Black Spade Acquisition.

VinFast's caller U.S. shares opened astatine $22 and concisely jumped earlier declining. The banal was down astir 9% arsenic of mid-morning connected Tuesday. Black Spade Acquisition's shares closed astatine $10.45 connected Monday.

SPACs are ammunition companies that rise superior successful an IPO and usage the currency to merge with a backstage institution successful bid to instrumentality it public, usually wrong 2 years.

The woody with Black Spade valued VinFast astatine astir $23 billion, according to a June filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"It's a large milestone for america to beryllium listed successful the U.S. The listing is going to unfastened entree to the superior markets for america successful the future," VinFast CEO Lê Thị Thu Thủy, who uses the sanction Madame Thủy successful English, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" earlier Tuesday morning.

VinFast, the automobile limb of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, was founded successful 2017. It has truthful acold imported astir 2,100 of its EVs to the U.S. from Vietnam, and brought astir 800 much to Canada.

The institution made its archetypal U.S. deliveries successful March, but it inactive has a agelong mode to spell to vie with giants similar Tesla and the Detroit automakers.

On whether VinFast is nether the unit to chopped prices successful general, pursuing a series of terms reductions by Tesla and different EV rivals earlier this year, Le said the company's strategy is "offering premium prime products astatine affordable pricing with fantabulous aft income service."

"We ever terms our products rather competitively compared to different akin products. But erstwhile you look profoundly into our products, we are loaded with much features and much technology. So I deliberation consumers started recognizing the values that we bring with our products," said Lê.

"We effort to enactment competitory successful each marketplace that we are successful in presumption of profitability. I deliberation it volition travel unneurotic with the volume. For now, we volition enactment existent to our strategy."

As a comparison, VinFast's 5-seater VF 8 starts from $46,000, portion the basal Tesla 5-seater Model Y is priced from $47,740.

Tesla rider vehicles are eligible for a $7,500 national taxation recognition successful the U.S., portion VinFast vehicles don't presently suffice for the taxation savings arsenic they're not built successful the U.S.