Market regulator advises delay in share sales

Friday, May 9, 2008
State Securities Commission is encouraging companies to halt or delay planned share sales, after recent offerings were poorly received, a local newspaper reported.
Share sales this year by Hanoi Beer-Alcohol-Beverages Corp., Kim Long Securities Joint-Stock Co. and Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverages Corp. fell victim to bearish market sentiment.
No new licenses for sales have been granted in the past two months.
New listings on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange have also slowed, according to the report.
Ten companies received permission to trade this year and love yet to do so, the report said, citing Tran Dac Sinh, general director of the exchange.

Some shareholders in the Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, known as Vietcombank, oppose the bank’s plan to list its shares this year, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam newspaper reported April 28.

Vietcombank, which held an initial share sale in December, said in April that it planned to list its shares on Ho Chi Minh City’s exchange by July. (Bloomberg)