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Vietcombank’s IPO delayed, once again
Sources from Vietcombank say that the bank’s plan to make IPO will be postponed until December.
Making transactions at Vietcombank
Vietcombank has submitted to the government the result of the final round of negotiations with strategic partners. One to two strategic partners will be short-listed by the bank and approved by the Prime Minister. After that, it will take the bank 3-4 weeks more to get prepared for the IPO, which cannot be carried out sooner than December.
Securities experts say that one of the reasons for the delay of Vietcombank’s IPO is the pricing. Rumour has it that foreign partners including Nomura, Goldman Sachs and General Electric will pay low for Vietcombank’s shares, VND43-65,000/share only.
The levels are thought to be too cheap if compared with the supply and demand of high-quality commodities on the market. Analysts say that if compared to ACB’s share price, Vietcombank’s shares should be valued at VND200,000/share. Defining the share price remains a difficult-to-solve problem, because Vietcombank needs to harmonise the benefit of the government (not to sell national assets cheaply) and the benefit of domestic and foreign investors.
Securities experts have criticised the delay of Vietcombank’s IPO, saying that it will have big impacts on the market, and that the bank never follows its plans.
Big investors may have planned to sell shares out to take capital back prior to the IPO time. Now since the IPO time has changed, their plans will have to be reconsidered. Meanwhile, other investors still keep the wait-and-see attitude, because they believe that Vietcombank’s IPO prices will define the prices of banking and financial shares.
Le Dat Chi, an analyst, said that many investors had shifted to buy shares of real estate and construction companies, sectors that do not bear much influence by Vietcombank’s IPO.
The delay of Vietcombank’s IPO will also affect foreign investors’ feelings, especially foreign investment funds with long-term investment in the financial and banking sector, which have gotten ready to disburse money for the IPO.
A report by a foreign bank recently showed that since mid October, foreign investment flow into Vietnam has been slowing down.
Meanwhile, other experts say that the delay of Vietcombank’s IPO is indispensable. Huynh Anh Tuan, a securities expert, said that the government and the bank should keep cautious in choosing foreign strategic partners and defining prices because Vietcombank’s IPO would have influences on other banks’ equitisations.
VNN
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