Huy Vietnam Closes US$15.0 million Series B Equity Financing For Restaurant Chain Expansion in Vietnam

HONG KONG, Sept. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Huy Vietnam Group Limited ("Huy Vietnam" or the "Company"), Vietnam's largest operator of self-managed, local Vietnamese food restaurants, has secured a US$15.0 million equity financing from institutional investors and family offices from Malaysia, Korea and Hong Kong. This Series B round of funding will be used to support the Company's network expansion in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Operating since 2007, the Company is Vietnam's first international, professionally managed restaurant company operating in Vietnam serving traditional Vietnamese food prepared from formulated family-owned recipes. The Company currently runs over 40 restaurants under the Mon Hue, Com Express and Pho Ong Hung brands, serving affordable, delicious and authentic local Vietnamese cuisines in a modern and comfortable environment.

With this round of funding, Huy Vietnam plans to continue growing the brand presence and reach of  Mon Hue, Com Express and Pho Ong Hung restaurants throughout 2014 and 2015, including expanding its geographical footprint to include Hanoi in 4Q 2014.  

Mr. KY Huy, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Huy Vietnam states, "This Series B financing allows us to leverage our market leading position in Ho Chi Minh City and expand to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. We believe our multi-restaurant brand strategy fits well with the local Vietnamese market. By providing customers with cuisine choices in central Vietnamese specialty dishes (Mon Hue), southern Vietnamese rice dishes (Com Express) and northern Vietnamese noodle dishes (Pho Ong Hung), we believe that our three restaurant brands will capture significant market share in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi."

Dennis Nguyen, Vice Chairman of Huy Vietnam and Chairman of New Asia Partners, a Minneapolis-based private equity group and one of Huy Vietnam's shareholders comments, "We are pleased to bring on leading Asian investment firms, AIF Capital Asia IV, L.P. ("AIF Capital") and Fortress Capital Asset Management (M) Sdn Bhd ("Fortress Capital"), with the close of this Series B round of equity fundraising. I especially look forward to working with AIF Capital on the Huy Vietnam board as they add value through corporate governance and industry specialization and Fortress Capital in the areas of capital markets intelligence and investor relations."

Peter Amour, CEO of AIF Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm and one of the two leading Series B investors in Huy Vietnam adds, "We are impressed with the professionalism and experience of the management team and with Huy Vietnam's impressive progress to date. We believe that Huy Vietnam has all the right ingredients to be the leader in the local Vietnamese restaurant sector."

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with a forecast 5.6% GDP growth rate in 2014, and an average GDP growth of over 7% annually in the past decade. The strong GDP growth has fueled the development of the restaurant business in Vietnam due to the local culture of eating out.

About Huy Vietnam Group Limited

Huy Vietnam Group Limited is the first international, professionally managed restaurant chain operated in Vietnam based on traditional Vietnamese food with formulated family-owned recipes. Founded in 2006, the Company currently operates over 40 restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam serving affordable, delicious and authentic local Vietnamese cuisines in a modern and comfortable environment..  Huy Vietnam has successfully built up their restaurants to offer delicious, nutritious and affordable Vietnamese cuisine across a board range of restaurant types, including royal cuisines from the Hue areas, rice-based cuisines and northern Pho cuisines under Mon Hue, Com Express and Pho Ong Hung brands respectively.

SOURCE Huy Vietnam Group Limited