HSL Replaces 5 of 7 Board Members With Scientists, Approves VND 3,168B Biodiesel Plant

Overview

Hoang Ha Food Investment and Development (HOSE: HSL) overhauled its board at an extraordinary general meeting on 18 September, removing five of seven directors and electing five academics and researchers in their place. Shareholders also approved the VND 3,168 billion Helios biodiesel plant in Can Tho, a project roughly seven times the company’s total assets, to be partly funded by a VND 1,270 billion private placement.

Key Facts

• Five of seven board members were dismissed: Nguyen Khanh Tung, Do Hoang Anh, Tran Dang Khoa, Tran Thi Thu Hai and Pham Van Luan.
• The incoming directors are Dr. Le Duong Anh Duy, MSc. Nguyen Thai Hoa, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Phuong Loan, MSc. Le Nhat Quang and Dr. Nguyen Huu Thanh; none held HSL shares at the time of nomination.
• PGS.TS. Phan Phuong Loan, born 1977, a Doctor of Aquaculture and 2025 associate professor, was elected Chair. She heads the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources at An Giang University and previously worked as a technician at Agifish.
• The Helios biodiesel plant carries preliminary total investment of approximately VND 3,168 billion, or about USD 126.7 million, on roughly 6 hectares in Can Tho.
• Phase-one capacity is 150,000 tonnes of B100 biodiesel per year, requiring an estimated 34,000 tonnes of fish fat and oil annually at steady state, alongside used cooking oil, animal fat and vegetable-oil by-products.
• HSL plans a private placement of 127 million shares to raise about VND 1,270 billion, split into 55 million shares for VND 550 billion and 72 million shares for VND 720 billion.
• Total assets stood at roughly VND 475 billion as of end-June 2026, against 38.6 million shares currently outstanding.

What Happened

At the 18 September meeting, shareholders approved the removal of five sitting directors and the election of five replacements drawn from university and research backgrounds. The new board then elected PGS.TS. Phan Phuong Loan as Chair. The company said the incoming directors hold no HSL shares as of their nomination, a detail disclosed in the meeting materials.

The same meeting passed the investment policy for the Helios biodiesel plant in Can Tho. The project’s feedstock mix explicitly includes fat and oil derived from tra fish, linking the new venture to the aquaculture and biotechnology expertise of several newly elected directors. To fund it, HSL intends to issue 127 million new shares privately in two tranches. The company has not disclosed the identity of the placement subscribers, the pricing of either tranche, or a construction timetable.

Market Context

HSL trades on HOSE and closed at 9,100 on 22 September 2026. The company sits in the Food & Beverage sector, where the proposed pivot introduces exposure to energy and biofuels. The scale of the plan is unusual relative to HSL’s balance sheet: the VND 3,168 billion project equals close to seven times total assets of about VND 475 billion, and the 127 million shares proposed for issuance exceed the 38.6 million shares currently outstanding by more than three times. That dilution profile and the company’s small-cap status place it apart from the larger consumer-staples names that typically dominate Vietnamese market coverage.

Strategic Significance

The board reshuffle is not cosmetic. By seating aquaculture, food-technology and biotechnology specialists, HSL is aligning governance with a feedstock thesis built on tra fish fat and oil, a by-product stream from Vietnam’s pangasius processing sector. If the Helios plant reaches its stated 34,000 tonnes of annual fish fat and oil consumption, HSL would become a structural buyer of a low-value by-product, potentially capturing margin that currently sits with processors and waste handlers. The competitive question is whether HSL can secure feedstock contracts, offtake for B100, and the roughly VND 1,270 billion in placement capital before larger energy and agribusiness groups move into the same by-product niche. Execution risk is concentrated in financing, given the asset-scale mismatch.

What to Watch

• Filing of the private placement with the State Securities Commission, including subscriber identities and offer price for both tranches.
• Any disclosure on land allocation for the 6-hectare Can Tho site and the project’s construction schedule.
• Feedstock supply agreements with tra fish processors, which would validate the 34,000 tonne annual input assumption.
• HSL’s next financial statements for evidence of capital raising progress and changes to the VND 475 billion asset base.
• Shareholder approval mechanics and any adjustment to the 38.6 million share count as dilution takes effect.