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Vietinbank going ahead with listing without foreign partners
Though Vietinbank still has not found strategic partners, it will still list shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in early July, according to Vietinbank Chairman Pham Huy Hung, who believes that the bank’s share price will be no less than 50,000 dong.
The equitised Vietinbank, one of the biggest banks in Vietnam, plans to organise its first shareholders’ meeting on June 4, during which some important issues will be decided upon, including the charter on turning the state-owned Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank into Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Vietinbank) and building up the Vietinbank banking group, the first banking group in Vietnam.
Regarding the plan on listing shares on HOSE, Hung said that Vietinbank’s shares will hit the bourse in early July 2009. It is expected that some six percent of Vietinbank’s shares will put into transactions on the bourse.
Vietinbank has sold 10 percent of its stakes, including six percent sold during the IPO in late 2008, 2 percent to the trade union, 2 percent to domestic strategic investors.
The bank is seeking foreign strategic partners to whom it will sell 10 percent of stakes.
However, it is likely that Vietinbank will not have foreign strategic partners when it lists shares on the bourse in July. Due to the global financial crisis, many big banks in the world have been suffering heavily and have sent letters to Vietinbank, asking to delay cooperation.
Hung said that Vietinbank plans to gain 2,593 billion dong worth of pre-tax profit in 2009, and 1,944 billion dong worth of post-tax profit.
In the first five months of the year, the bank’s credit growth increased by over ten percent, while the bank’s bad debt rate was 1.6 percent, the lowest rate in Vietnam’s banking system.
“We are continuing negotiations and considering selling stakes to foreign strategic partners in the first six months of 2010,” Hung said.
Hung went on to say that July would be a good time for new shares to hit the bourse.
“We previously thought when considering the market’s performance at the time that our share prices would be 30-40,000/share. However, as the market has improved, total investment has increased and the VN Index is on the rise, we believe that Vietinbank’s shares will be no cheaper than 50,000,” Hung said.
Currently, Vietcombank’s shares are being traded on the OTC market at 47,000/share on average, while ACB’s shares 44,000/share.
VietNamNet, DT
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