Car manufacturer VinFast has announced the signing of agreements with Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., raising at least US$4 billion to develop an electric vehicle factory in North Carolina.

The maker said the capital will also be for business activities in the US market.

The agreements with each partner have a minimum financing value of approximately $2 billion, which could include debt or private placements of equity, said VinFast.

VinFast's factory will create a major manufacturing centre in Chatham County's Triangle Innovation Point mega-site, covering an area of 800ha, with three main areas for electric car and bus production and assembly, EV batteries production, and supporting industries for suppliers.

In the first phase, the factory will have a capacity of producing 150,000 vehicles each year. VinFast will continue to invest in this factory in future phases. Vehicles to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a seven-passenger all-electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) model, and the VinFast VF 8, a five-passenger all-electric mid-size SUV.

Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chairwoman and VinFast Global General Director, said: “The commitment from international leading financial institutions to work with VinFast not only demonstrates our solid reputation, but also shows the banks’ trust in VinFast’s excitement, the trust of partners with deliberate investment plans in the international market in general and the US in particular, and especially the development of the manufacturing facility in North Carolina, in order to ensure production autonomy globally and create jobs for the local community”.

Headquartered in Switzerland, Credit Suisse is one of the worlds leading investment banks with strengths in asset management, banking and investment services.

Meanwhile, Citigroup is strong in strategic consulting and capital mobilisation, providing services to corporations, large financial institutions and governments across the world. It covers 95 countries around the world.

The car maker's parent of Vingroup is the largest listed company by market capitalisation, which is one of the Vietnamese leaders in retail, real estate and resorts. VinFast was established in 2019 to build conventional combustion-engine cars before switching exclusively to EVs in 2021.

Current, its only factory is in Hai Phong, in the north of Viet Nam — VNS