Lao Cai gold - the first gold enterprise to list on the stock exchange fluctuates due to debt

Losing gold mines, businesses lose "living doors

Once the first gold mining enterprise listed on the stock exchange, Lao Cai Gold Joint Stock Company (stock code GLC) attracted great attention from investors when it listed 10.5 million shares on UPCoM at the end of 2018.

Expectations at that time were not unfounded. The enterprise holding the right to exploit the Minh Luong gold mine (old Van Ban district, Lao Cai province) - is assessed as the original gold mine with the largest reserves in the Northwest region, more than 6 tons.

But a turning point occurred when the mining license expired in April 2019. Subsequent extension attempts failed due to failure to meet environmental requirements and mining options.

By the end of 2024, Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to recover land in the mine area. Factories, ore processing areas, and works serving mining in Minh Luong commune are required to be dismantled and relocated as requested by functional agencies.

The loss of Minh Luong mine means that businesses are losing core resources - which are also almost the only "door to life".

Accumulated losses exceed capital, stocks almost frozen

No longer having the main source of income from mineral exploitation, the financial picture of businesses quickly turned gray.

According to the 2025 financial report (published on March 27, 2026), the company's revenue is only more than 5.5 billion VND, a sharp decrease compared to 19 billion VND in the previous year. Meanwhile, pressure from loan interest expenses, management expenses and the burden of payables continues to erode cash flow.

By the end of 2025, the accumulated loss of the enterprise reached 118.8 billion VND, exceeding the charter capital by 105 billion VND, causing equity to be negative by more than 13.8 billion VND.

This is a particularly worrying financial signal, showing that businesses are not only running out of internal resources but also facing the risk of losing their ability to operate continuously.

On the stock exchange, GLC shares also fell into a state of near "freezing". From 10,000 VND/share, this code decreased to about 6,000 VND/share and has had almost no transactions since the beginning of March 2025 to date.

Two consecutive years of being refused audit opinions

Not only financial difficulties, the issue of reporting transparency also casts a shadow over the recovery prospects of businesses.

According to documents Lao Dong has accessed, in two consecutive years 2024 and 2025, independent auditing units have refused to comment on the company's financial statements.

In the 2025 report, the auditing unit said it could not collect sufficient evidence to verify some important items such as cash, inventory and gold mine exploration costs.

Notably, the audit also emphasized the existence of "key uncertainties" that can significantly affect the business's ability to operate continuously.

In the context of overlapping difficulties, it is known that the company's Board of Directors has convened the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on June 19.

This is considered a landmark meeting for the fate of businesses.

Many issues are forecast to be brought up for discussion including: the cause of mine exploitation rights loss, responsibilities of the leadership, debt handling plans, operation restructuring, as well as the selection of an auditing unit for 2026.

In the context of world gold prices increasing sharply but gold mine owners sinking deep into crisis, these questions are said by analysts to heat up the upcoming meeting.

From the position of a business once expected to unlock the gold potential of the Northwest, Lao Cai Gold Joint Stock Company is currently facing a very alarming situation regarding its financial and business situation.