SCS: At a Glance

Long Thanh status
Confidential MOU with ACV signed; cooperation plan still being negotiated (AGM minutes)
Commercial launch target
1 Dec 2026 (ACV's plan)
Access bridge completion
Q1 2027
H1 2026 cargo volume, YoY
−6.47% (Q1 alone: −5.4%)
Qatar's share of cargo volume
~20% (official AGM figure; recovering since Apr 2026)
2026 ESOP
1,020,700 new shares (~1.0% of shares out.), approved 71.92% / against 28.04%
Cash + deposits (30 Jun 2026)
₫1,746.3bn
Fundamentals
SCS company page
Further reading
SCS - Q2/2026 Snapshot · [Live] SCS AGM 2026

1. The MOU: What the Official Minutes Say

SCS's route into Long Thanh runs through one document nobody outside has read: an MOU with ACV (Airports Corporation of Vietnam), the state-owned operator of the new airport. The 2026 AGM minutes, filed with the State Securities Commission and the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, confirm the MOU exists and nothing more.

"ACV is also a major shareholder of SCSC. SCSC and ACV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding cooperation at the Long Thanh project, but it cannot be disclosed yet for confidentiality reasons."
SCS, Minutes of the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Q&A item 5 (official filing, 28 Apr 2026) · scsc.vn

The same minutes explain why SCS can only come in through a cooperation deal, not a direct award: the state has already split the terminal ownership between two other parties.

"SCSC always strives and prepares plans to participate in operations at Long Thanh Airport cargo terminal. However, participation via bidding is currently not feasible as the State has designated ACV (Terminal 1) and Vietnam Airlines (Terminal 2 and rapid development terminal) as investors. Therefore, SCSC is negotiating a cooperation plan with ACV."
SCS, Minutes of the 2026 AGM, Q&A item 4 · scsc.vn

Unofficial live meeting notes add color the minutes don't: the board relayed what ACV's General Director told a January gathering of airlines (quoted below), cited Decree 68 (equal footing for private firms vs. FDI/state enterprises) as making a PPP-style arrangement more workable, and put SCS's market share at roughly 50%, "but we're waiting on ACV's decision."

"ACV là cổ đông của SCSC, ACV có trách nhiệm hỗ trợ SCSC... Tuy nhiên, đây là 2 pháp nhân, phải có lợi chúng tôi mới làm! Chúng tôi không muốn dính vấn đề pháp lý ảnh hưởng cổ đông."
"ACV is a shareholder of SCSC, and ACV has a responsibility to support SCSC... However, these are two separate legal entities, we'll only proceed if it benefits us! We don't want to get tangled in a legal issue that hurts shareholders."
Live notes, SCS 2026 AGM (unofficial, not the filed minutes) · projectsnowball.top/posts/scs-agm
My reading, not a stated fact The MOU is a real, officially disclosed sign of intent between two aligned parties: ACV is even a major shareholder of SCS. It is not a won contract. The 2026 AGM minutes are unusually direct for a filed document: a deal exists, but terminal ownership has already gone to ACV and Vietnam Airlines. So SCS is negotiating a cooperation role from outside the ownership structure, not competing for it. "Cooperation MOU" and "confirmed contract" are different things, and the filing confirms only the first.
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2. Life With and Without Long Thanh

What "with Long Thanh" looks like, officially

The official minutes put a number on the upside scenario, and immediately hedge it:

"In the strongest scenario, the State expects to move 80% of international cargo to Long Thanh, this could be the scenario with the strongest impact on SCSC. However, looking at Narita and Haneda (Japan), an optimistic scenario is that the volume moved may not reach 80%."
SCS, Minutes of the 2026 AGM, Q&A item 8 · scsc.vn

SCS operates on a 14.3-hectare plot at Tan Son Nhat, of which about 5 hectares is an apron leased to ACV that would no longer be used if flights shift to Long Thanh. The official minutes say SCS has discussed cooperation plans with Lufthansa (the shareholder asked about aircraft maintenance, MRO), but that they cannot yet be implemented because of two open issues:

"SCSC has discussed cooperation plans with Lufthansa, but these cannot yet be implemented due to several remaining issues: (i) the specific timing for ACV to cease leasing and hand over the site has not been determined, and (ii) the change of land-use purpose for the 5-hectare plot requires approval from the Military Service, SCSC is currently in the process of seeking such approval."
SCS, Minutes of the 2026 AGM, Q&A item 8 · scsc.vn
Tone gap: official minutes vs. the live Q&A record The same meeting's unofficial live notes quote the board describing the Lufthansa plan in much more advanced terms: "Lufthansa is one of the world's top aircraft maintenance companies. We only work with the world's top 3. We just need to put pen to paper. The question is: when does Long Thanh operate?" That reads as a deal waiting on one external event (Long Thanh's opening). The official minutes instead name two open issues: when ACV will stop leasing and hand over the site has not been set, and the land-use change needs Military Service approval, which SCS is still seeking. I give more weight to the filed minutes, since they're the document SCS is legally accountable for, but I flag the gap because it's large: "just sign it" and "two open issues, one of them an approval still being sought" are different risk profiles.

What "without Long Thanh," or "Long Thanh delayed," looks like

I could not find the board's plainest statement on a Long Thanh delay in any official filing, so it comes from the live meeting notes, not the minutes:

"Long Thành bị trễ, việc bên đó cũng sẽ chậm."
"Long Thanh is delayed, so the work over there will also be slow."
Live notes, SCS 2026 AGM (unofficial) · projectsnowball.top/posts/scs-agm

Meanwhile SCS runs its existing Tan Son Nhat operation without Long Thanh, and the official minutes (Q&A item 7) already state a playbook for falling cargo volume: "SCSC holds about 50% market share at Tan Son Nhat Airport; when cargo volume decreases, the BOM has response scenarios and cost optimization to ensure efficiency."

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3. Risk or Chance? ACV's Own Phased Rollout

On Long Thanh's impact, the live meeting notes record the board leaning on IATA's position and then qualifying it: "I've reviewed a letter from IATA, they support Long Thanh, but the airlines are also very conservative: everything has to be fully ready before they'll start." (unofficial notes, not the filed minutes). ACV's own official migration plan, disclosed to SCS shareholders in the Q2 2026 investor bulletin, backs this up independently and in far more detail:

PhaseWindowWhat happens
1Dec 2026 – Mar 2027Airlines voluntarily register, mostly a small number of domestic routes
2Mar – Oct 2027International + domestic carriers register under the summer schedule
3After Oct 2027Long Thanh ramps from 50% toward full design capacity

Source: ACV, disclosed in SCS's official Q2 2026 Investor Newsletter ("SCSC BẢN TIN NHÀ ĐẦU TƯ QUÝ 2 NĂM 2026"). The bulletin adds that allocation "will be driven by actual passenger demand rather than fixed rules," with no requirement that long-haul flights use Long Thanh exclusively; the same route can run from both airports at once.

My reading, not a stated fact In my view this is the strongest evidence in the whole story, and it comes straight from ACV through SCS's own investor bulletin: the phased rollout is itself conservative. Airlines aren't forced onto Long Thanh on day one; the first four months are voluntary and, per the bulletin, focused on "a limited number of domestic routes." Full utilization isn't targeted until nearly a year after commercial opening. So SCS's international cargo business is very unlikely to see an abrupt cutover, for better and for worse: less shock risk, but a slower revenue ramp than a headline "airport opens December" implies.
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4. My Opinion: I Don't Think This Goes Smoothly on Schedule

ACV's plan, as reported on 29 June 2026 (An ninh Thủ đô), is specific: integrated trial operations in September 2026 and commercial operation in December 2026. A July 2026 report (Znews) on a Civil Aviation Authority letter puts the trials at September to November and the target at 1 December.

"Tháng 9/2026 sẽ vận hành thử nghiệm liên động... Trên cơ sở kết quả vận hành thử nghiệm và các chứng chỉ an toàn khai thác được cấp phép theo quy định, dự án sẽ chính thức đi vào khai thác thương mại."
"September 2026 will see integrated trial operations begin... On the basis of trial-operation results and safety-operation certifications issued per regulations, the project will officially enter commercial operation [in December 2026]."
An ninh Thủ đô (Báo CAND), "Sân bay Long Thành phấn đấu khai thác thương mại vào cuối năm," 29 Jun 2026 · anninhthudo.vn
This is my opinion, not a reported fact

I don't think Long Thanh opens smoothly on this timeline. This is my read of the evidence below, not inside information, and I could be wrong.

First, the roads won't be ready on opening day. VEC, the state operator widening the HCMC–Long Thanh expressway and building the new Long Thanh bridge, plans to have the expressway "basically complete" by end-2026, according to CafeF (Nov 2025). The new bridge's main span is due in December 2026 and the whole bridge in Q1 2027, one to four months after the planned 1 December 2026 commercial launch. I see the bridge as the real chokepoint into the airport.

"Theo kế hoạch, cao tốc cơ bản hoàn thành cuối năm 2026; riêng cầu Long Thành mới dự kiến hợp long tháng 12/2026 và hoàn thiện toàn bộ trong quý I/2027."
"The plan is for the expressway to be basically complete by the end of 2026; the Long Thanh bridge itself is expected to have its main span joined in December 2026 and be fully complete in Q1 2027."
CafeF, "Toàn cảnh mở rộng cao tốc TP.HCM - Long Thành - Dầu Giây," Nov 2025 · cafef.vn

Second, VEC itself expects congestion while the work is under way:

"Theo VEC, dù đã nghiên cứu kỹ phương án thi công, song đây là trục huyết mạch cửa ngõ TP HCM nên khó tránh khỏi ùn tắc."
"According to VEC, although the construction method has been carefully studied, this is a critical artery into HCMC, so congestion is difficult to avoid."
VnExpress, "Phương án vừa mở rộng, vừa cho xe chạy trên cao tốc TP HCM - Long Thành," 27 Aug 2025 · vnexpress.net

Third, a March 2025 directive relayed by the Government Office (document 2143/VPCP-CN, Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà) told the Ministry of Construction to strive to inaugurate the expansion on 2 September 2026, National Day. The plan reported in November 2025 is "basically complete" by the end of 2026. Separately, land-clearance disputes in Ho Chi Minh City were reported in May 2026 as an active threat even to that goal.

Sources: Báo Đấu thầu, "Phấn đấu khánh thành Dự án mở rộng đoạn cao tốc TP.HCM - Long Thành vào 2/9/2026," 21 Mar 2025 (baodauthau.vn; the directive); CafeF, Nov 2025 (above); Xa Luận News, "Mở rộng cao tốc TP.HCM - Long Thành 15.000 tỷ đồng: Nguy cơ chậm tiến độ vì mặt bằng," 24 May 2026 (xaluannews.com; land-clearance report).

Put together: a plan to open commercially on 1 December 2026, a highway corridor its own builder admits will be congested during construction, and a bridge not fully finished until after the airport opens. I think "on schedule and smooth" is the less likely outcome.

Why I don't think it matters much either way Whether Long Thanh opens smoothly in December or slips, and whatever happens with the MOU, I don't think the investment case for SCS changes much either way. Section 3's official ACV rollout is gradual through late 2027 and voluntary at the outset, whatever the opening date. SCS's Tan Son Nhat cargo business doesn't disappear the day Long Thanh opens, and isn't saved the day it doesn't. The real swing factor is covered next.
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5. The Real Risk: An Oil War, Not an Airport

SCS's own official Q1 2026 investor bulletin, not press commentary, states plainly that the Middle East conflict is already showing up in the cargo numbers:

"So với cùng kỳ năm trước, sản lượng 3 tháng đầu năm nay giảm 5,4%, trong đó hàng hóa quốc tế giảm 5,5%, quốc nội giảm giảm 5,1%. Hàng hoá xuất nhập khẩu giảm do các hãng hàng không Trung Đông giảm tần suất bay."
"Compared with the same period last year, total output the first quarter this year decreased by 5.4%, of which international cargo decreased 5.5%, domestic cargo decreased 5.1%. Import and export cargo volumes decline as Middle Eastern airlines reduce flight frequencies."
SCS, Q1 2026 Investor Newsletter ("SCSC BẢN TIN NHÀ ĐẦU TƯ QUÝ 1 NĂM 2026") · scsc.vn

The same bulletin devotes a full section, in the company's own words, to the war's effects: a systemic shock to the global logistics network, not a one-off. It also says the loss of sea routes pushes cargo onto planes: "Air cargo demand increases, particularly for urgent and high-value shipments."

"Hàng loạt quốc gia Trung Đông đóng hoặc hạn chế không phận, nhiều chuyến bay bị hủy. Trung Đông vốn là 'hub trung chuyển số 1 thế giới,' chiếm ~4% hàng hoá hàng không toàn cầu. Khi bị gián đoạn, trong ngắn hạn có thể góp phần giảm 10–15% công suất toàn cầu. Kết quả: thiếu tải → giá cước tăng mạnh."
"Multiple countries have closed or restricted their airspace, numerous flights have been canceled or rerouted. The Middle East is a key global transit hub, accounting for approximately 4% of global air cargo volume. [The disruption] could in the short term reduce global capacity by 10–15%. Result: capacity shortage, significant increase in freight rates."
SCS, Q1 2026 Investor Newsletter, "Impact of the war in Iran" · scsc.vn
"Điểm nghẽn (Eo biển Hormuz): ~20% dầu thế giới đi qua đây nay bị phong tỏa... Với airline: Nhiên liệu chiếm 25–35% tổng chi phí, giá tăng nên tăng phụ phí. Với khách hàng: Cước tăng trên 20% và đà tăng khó đoán điểm dừng nếu chiến tranh kéo dài."
"Bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz: ~20% of global oil supply passes through this route, now disrupted... For airlines: fuel accounts for 25–35% of total operating costs, higher fuel prices lead to increased surcharges. For customers: Freight rates increase by over 20%, with further upside risk if the conflict persists."
SCS, Q1 2026 Investor Newsletter, "Impact of the war in Iran" · scsc.vn

By Q2, the damage was visible in SCS's own headline cargo figures too:

MetricH1 2025H1 2026Change
Total cargo volume (tonnes)131,369122,867−6.47%
International cargo (tonnes)103,80796,941−6.61%
Domestic cargo (tonnes)27,56225,926−5.94%

Source: SCS, Q2 2026 Investor Newsletter ("SCSC BẢN TIN NHÀ ĐẦU TƯ QUÝ 2 NĂM 2026"). Over the same six months the bulletin reports total revenue up 2.11% and profit after tax up 0.46%.

At the April AGM the board was calmer about the same conflict: it "has an impact, but it is not too significant for SCSC," because "increased cargo volume from other airlines largely compensated for the shortage" (Q&A item 7).

"Về cơ cấu khách hàng, thị phần hàng hóa từ Qatar hiện chiếm khoảng 20% tổng sản lượng của SCSC và đã ghi nhận xu hướng phục hồi tích cực kể từ tháng 4/2026."
"Regarding customer structure, the cargo market share from Qatar currently accounts for about 20% of SCSC total throughput and has recorded a positive recovery trend since April 2026."
SCS, Minutes of the 2026 AGM, Q&A item 10 (official filing) · scsc.vn
Data discrepancy: flagged for transparency This site's own unofficial live notes from the same meeting record the board citing "Emirates and Qatar" together at roughly 20%, not Qatar alone. The two claims don't reconcile from the documents in hand, so both are shown rather than silently picking one.

SCS's Q2 2026 bulletin also runs a forward scenario for a separate, newer risk: a Houthi blockade threat against Saudi Arabia.

"Nếu khủng hoảng chỉ diễn ra ở mức hiện nay: Sản lượng hàng quốc tế có thể tăng 3–5% do chuyển dịch từ đường biển; Cước hàng không tăng... Nếu xung đột lan rộng và kéo dài trên 1 năm: Giá dầu cao; Kinh tế toàn cầu suy giảm; Xuất khẩu Việt Nam giảm."
"If the crisis remains at its current level: international air cargo volumes could increase by 3–5% as some shipments shift from sea freight to air freight; air freight rates would rise... If the conflict escalates and persists for more than one year: oil prices would remain elevated, the global economy would face a broader slowdown, Vietnam's exports would likely decline."
SCS, Q2 2026 Investor Newsletter, "Update" · scsc.vn
This is my opinion This is the risk that matters for SCS right now, more than Long Thanh's opening date. SCS's own investor bulletins spend the most space on it, in far more structural detail than they give Long Thanh, and I don't think that's only my read. The Iran conflict and jet fuel prices are a live hit to SCS's core customers, already visible in both the Q1 and H1 2026 numbers, and SCS's own Houthi scenario table shows management is already gaming out how much worse it could get. A ceasefire or resolution would do more for SCS's volumes in the near term than anything ACV does with Long Thanh in the next twelve months.
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6. The ESOP: A Contested Vote, Years in the Making

SCS's 2026 AGM approved a new employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The filed numbers: 1,020,700 new shares issued at VND 10,000 par (not below it), raising shares outstanding from 102,076,982 to 103,097,682, including 7,190,000 dividend-preferred shares held by 41 Aircraft Repairing Co., Ltd. (the AGM minutes exclude them from the voting shares). SCS's filing states the ratio as 1.0% (1,020,700 / 102,076,982 rounds to that). The shares went to 165 employees. The issue completed on 12 June 2026 and the State Securities Commission confirmed it on 23 June 2026.

Source: SCS, Report on Results of Share Issuance under the ESOP, No. SCSC26/UBCK/BC/340 (16 Jun 2026); Board Resolution No. SCSC26/HĐQT/NQ/04 (11 May 2026); State Securities Commission Official Dispatch No. 5745/UBCK-QLCB (23 Jun 2026); AGM Resolution No. SCSC26/ĐHĐCĐ/NQ/01 (28 Apr 2026).

This isn't SCS's first ESOP. The company's board resolutions and SSC filings let me trace the full history back to 2017. It is not a yearly program: in roughly nine years, six tranches completed and one planned tranche didn't.

CompletedSharesRatioPrice/shareAGM authorization
14 Nov 2017533,700 (533,772 planned)1.08%10,000 (par)2017 AGM
23 Sep 2019380,0000.76%48,0002018 & 2019 AGM
Jun 2020380,0000.75%32,0002018 AGM
Apr 2023500,000 (505,000 planned)0.5%25,0002021 AGM ("tranche 1")
Apr 2024507,8000.5%23,1002021 AGM ("tranche 2")
Not completed1,020,700 planned1.0%11,9702024 AGM ("tranche 1, 2025–2027")
Jun 20261,020,7001.0%10,000 (par)2026 AGM

Sources: SCS board resolutions and SSC filings for each tranche, 2017–2026 (see sources list below). The 2023 actual is back-solved from the share-count reconciliation between consecutive filings, not a dedicated completion report; the 2017 and 2023 shortfalls versus the planned figures both match SCS's standard rounding-down of individual allocations (per the company's ESOP regulations), not an error. For 2023 and 2024 the date is that of the board resolution raising charter capital after the issue (21 Apr 2023 and 9 Apr 2024); the SSC confirmed the results on 18 Apr 2023 and 29 Mar 2024.

Two things the table doesn't show directly

The 2019 and 2020 rows are two separate board resolutions nine months apart, not one delayed tranche: SCSC19/HĐQT/NQ/16 (17 Jul 2019, 66 employees) and SCSC20/HĐQT/NQ/03 (16 Apr 2020), each issuing 380,000 shares and each confirmed by its own SSC filing (23 Sep 2019 and June 2020).

The jump between the 2020 and 2023 rows isn't a missed ESOP tranche either. In August 2022, SCS issued 43,133,482 bonus shares (100:85) to all existing common shareholders, funded from retained earnings and reserves, not employee cash. 57,935,700 + 43,133,482 = 101,069,182, exactly the base the 2023 tranche was measured against.

In May 2025, SCS's board approved issuing the same 1,020,700 shares at VND 11,970 each, under a "2025–2027" program the 2024 AGM had authorized, targeted for Q2 2025. It never completed. The board resolution approving the 2026 issue says, in a standard disclosure field, that there had been no ESOP issuance "in the last 12 months" as of May 2026. The 2026 AGM re-approved the tranche from scratch at a lower price: par, VND 10,000, against 11,970 in 2025. No document explains why the 2025 plan lapsed or why the price changed.

Ratios haven't grown steadily. The largest on record is the earliest, 1.08% in 2017. It fell to about 0.75–0.76% in 2019/2020 and to 0.5% for both tranches under the 2021 authorization, then jumped back to 1.0% in 2026, just short of 2017, a year after one with no issuance at all.

The 2026 vote count shows real dissent, and not only on the ESOP:

ResolutionApproveDisapprove
Profit distribution 2025 (50% cash dividend)77.71%22.28%
2026 business plan99.94%0.05%
ESOP 2026 share issuance71.92%28.04%

Source: SCS, Minutes of the 2026 AGM, vote-counting results (official filing).

This is my opinion

A roughly 1.0% dilution approved with 28% of voting shares against it doesn't look like a rubber stamp. It's a real, contested decision. It isn't new for this board either. The 2017 AGM resolution that authorized SCS's first tranche passed with only 81.67% approval and 17.35% "no opinion," after a shareholder asked why the company hadn't run an ESOP in the previous four years. The 2018 AGM's ESOP renewal cleared at almost the same margin: 83.73% approve, 16.25% "no opinion."

Plan yearPBT targetPrior-year PBT actual
2026960bn939.63bn (2025)
2025860bn782.68bn (2024)

Source: 2026 AGM Resolution (2026 plan, 2025 actual); 2025 AGM Resolution (2025 plan) vs. the 2026 minutes' 2025-actuals table (2024 actual). The 2025 plan implies a +9.9% increase over 2024's actual, not the "exactly 10.0%" sometimes claimed.

I read this as a board setting conservative targets, one of which (2025's, per the table above) was beaten by more than 9%, and asking for a modest, occasional top-up to keep staff. Reasonable people can still vote no on dilution, and 28% of this AGM's shares did.
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7. The Balance Sheet: Why I Think SCS Gets Through This

At the April 2026 AGM, per the live meeting notes, the board described SCS's cash position in blunt terms:

"Chúng ta có 50 triệu USD tiền mặt, tiền không là gì hết."
"We have USD 50 million in cash. Money is nothing to us."
Live notes, SCS 2026 AGM (unofficial, undated within the quarter) · projectsnowball.top/posts/scs-agm

SCS's own Q2 2026 financial statements back that up with a reported figure: cash and short-term bank deposits stood at ₫1,746.3bn (₫71.91bn cash + ₫1,674.40bn deposits) as at 30 June 2026, up from ₫1,583.84bn at the start of the year.

Source: SCS - Q2/2026 Snapshot (this site), checked against the Q2 2026 financial statements.

This is my opinion I believe SCS gets through this rough patch (the H1 2026 volume decline and the Long Thanh timing uncertainty) and comes back stronger. With roughly ₫1.7 trillion of cash and short-term deposits, it can absorb a bad quarter or two of Middle East-driven weakness without a fire sale, a dilutive capital raise or a strategic misstep. That's a cushion, not a guarantee, but it lets management wait out a war and a construction delay instead of reacting to them.
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Bottom Line

The MOU with ACV is real and officially confirmed, but confidential: the minutes say nothing about its terms or outcome. Treat it as a strong signal, not a won contract. The official minutes also say the Lufthansa MRO plan cannot yet be implemented because of two open issues, one of them a Military Service approval still being sought; it is not "ready to sign." By ACV's own plan, airlines move to Long Thanh gradually through late 2027, voluntarily at first. So in my opinion the December 2026 opening date matters less than headlines suggest: a smooth or a delayed opening is unlikely to swing SCS's near-term results. The bigger, live risk is jet fuel costs and Middle East carrier disruption. In my reading SCS's own bulletins explain it in more depth than the Long Thanh story, and it already shows in the Q1 and H1 2026 volumes, though revenue and profit after tax still rose in both periods. SCS is still overwhelmingly cash-rich. Its 2026 ESOP, a real dilution and nearly the largest single tranche by ratio in the nine years reviewed here, passed with 28% against rather than as a routine formality.

This post draws on SCS's official 2025 and 2026 AGM Minutes and Resolutions, its official Q1 2026 and Q2 2026 investor newsletters, and its ESOP-related board resolutions and regulatory filings from 2019–2026, all filed with or published by the company. Where a claim could not be verified against those documents, it is either sourced to this site's own unofficial live AGM notes (flagged inline) or omitted. Sections marked "this is my opinion" or "my reading" are personal views, not statements of fact, and are not investment advice. I am not a licensed financial advisor.