Lotte Vietnam Shopping Joint Stock Company (Lotte Mart Vietnam) has written to the Ministries of Information and Communications and Finance and the media dismissing the false reports in some newspapers that it has made losses of VND2.3 trillion (US$100.87 million) in its 11 years in Viet Nam.

The reports have seriously affected its operations and consumers’ trust, it claimed.

It said its financial reports audited by PwC Vietnam showed that until the end of last year it had only lost VND800 billion ($35.08 million), and its owner’s equity is now VND1,600 billion.

The South Korea retailer explained that while it opened its first shopping mall in Viet Nam in 2008, it then opened 12 other malls and hypermarkets from 2009 to 2016, and each needs five to eight years to break even.

Besides, since 2008 it has invested more than VND8.9 trillion in infrastructure, strategic premises and modern equipment for its13 malls and hypermarkets, it said.

Some of the malls are very efficient and generate profits, but some others have failed to meet expectations, and the former cannot make up for the latter or recoup investment by themselves, it said.

Viet Nam is the most promising Asian retail market, and therefore it had come to Viet Nam for long-term investment and opened malls around the country, it said.

Jeong Seong Won, chief financial officer of Lotte Mart Vietnam, said: “We expect that by 2020 we will start to make a profit.

“We will continue to enhance investment in Viet Nam. This is the strategic vision and long-term investment commitment of Lotte Group as well as Lotte Mart in Viet Nam.” — VNS