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Vietnam’s Vinaconex plans share debut as market rallies
Vietnamese construction firm Vinaconex has said it will go officially public this week in what will be the biggest share listing in Vietnam for seven months, following a recovery in the battered stock market.
Hanoi-based Vinaconex, valued at about US$210 million, said it would list all its 150 million shares on the over-the-counter exchange Hanoi Securities Trading Center to begin trading on September 5.
Shares in Vinaconex, or Vietnam Construction and Import Export Corporation, were traded at between VND20,000 and VND26,000 ($1.2-1.58) on the unofficial, unregulated markets, valuing the firm at between $180 million and $237 million.
That will make it the biggest market debut since Saigontel, which debuted in a $252 million listing on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange in January.
Vietnamese shares were the worst performers in the world in the first half, falling by almost two-thirds as soaring inflation, rising interest rates and global turmoil took a toll.
But shares have since rallied sharply, with the Hanoi Securities Trading Center’s index closing 6.5 percent higher at 184.67 points on Tuesday, up 60 percent since the start of July.
Vinaconex, which has interests in a wide range of businesses from construction to real estate and financial investments, did not say at what price its shares were expected to start trading next Friday.
Vinaconex said it made a net profit of VND280.4 billion ($17 million) during the first half of this year, a rise of 57 percent from the same period last year.
Growth in Vietnam’s construction sector has stalled this year due to tighter lending conditions, and a cooling in the once red hot real estate market.
Thanhnien
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