Vietcombank going ahead with listing

Friday, April 18, 2008
Finally, Vietcombank has announced it will hold its first shareholders’ meeting on April 26, the first move in its plan to list on the bourse. The long silence of the bank since its IPO in December 2007 has made people think it forgot its promise to list.
The new stage in Vietcombank’s 45-year operation period will be marked on April 26, when Vietcombank holds its first shareholders’ meeting.
At the meeting, Viecombank’s shareholders will vote on the bank’s operation regulations, the number of management board and supervision board members. They will also approve the business plan for 2008-2013 and the business plan for 2008.
The plan to list Vietcombank shares at the HCM City Stock Exchange will also be discussed.
The listing is a part of the plan approved by the government to improve the position of Vietcombank in the capital market, heighten the transparency in corporate governance as well as to create liquidity for Vietcombank shares.
Vietcombank’s management board is expected to be authorised to go ahead with the listing plan, from selecting consultancy firms to following necessary procedures as stipulated by the laws.
The plan to list on the bourse will be made public after it gets approval from shareholders at the meeting. The listing, as previously planned, is expected to occur in June 2008.
After listing at the HCM City Stock Exchange, Vietcombank will also list its shares on foreign bourses. This issue will also be raised at the shareholders’ meeting on April 26, together with the issue of selecting foreign strategic partners for the bank.
After that shareholders’ meeting, Vietcombank, which has been known in Vietnam as a state owned bank, will shift to become operational under the mode of a joint stock bank.
Vietcombank has announced satisfactory business results for the first quarter of 2008, despite the big difficulties due to the tightened monetary policies. Its pre-tax profit was VND1,222bil, fulfilling 40% of the yearly plan.
In related news, Vietinbank, which was previously known as Incombank, is also moving ahead with its plan to make IPO.
JP Morgan has been chosen as the consultant for building up Vietinbank’s equitisation plan. It is expected that 25% of Vietinbank’s stakes will be sold to domestic and foreign investors at the IPO.
After the IPO, Vietinbank’s total assets are expected to reach VND180,000bil, including VND100,000bil worth of state owned capital. The bank may sell 24% more of stakes to the public by 2010 to reduce the state owned capital proportion to 51%. (TBKTVN)