VIB Bank forecasts profit rise, plans '08 listing

Friday, May 23, 2008
Viet Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB Bank), the country's eighth-largest lender, projected on Friday that its gross profit would jump 65% this year to 700 billion dong.

The Hanoi-based bank said in a statement it would issue new shares to raise its registered capital by 50% to 3 trillion dong, sell part of the issue to foreign investors and consider listing on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange this year.

The stock market has fallen 54% this year, closing down 1.54% at 428.05 points on Friday. The bearish trend has made many listed firms reluctant to go ahead with their new share issues planned this year.

VIB, worth $180 million based on its $0.9 share price it trades at on the unofficial, unregulated market, has also projected raising its assets by 32% to 52 trillion dong by the year-end.

All the targets have been approved by shareholders on Wednesday, the statement said. It did not name foreign candidates who would buy VIB shares.

Vietnam's central bank plans to keep the country's credit growth at 30% this year after loans jumped 54% last year. The economy expanded 8.5%.

VIB said its audited net profit more than doubled to 306.5 billion dong last year and total assets also soared to 39.32 trillion dong from 16.6 trillion dong in the previous year.

VIB's plan to sell a stake to foreign investors follows eight other partly private banks, half of them have each sold a 15% stake to a foreign bank in the past several years. The four others sold 10% each.

The government caps foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30% and limits strategic investor ownership to 15%.

Now only Ho Chi Minh City-based Sacombank and Asia Commercial Bank among Viet Nam's 36 partly private banks have shares traded on the country's stock markets.

VIB was founded in early 1996 by a number of institutions, including state-run Agribank and Vietcombank, as well as private businessmen. Vietcombank, the country's third-largest lender, owns 2.45% of VIB.

VIBBank hikes saving rates

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIBBank) announced that from May 20, it officially increased the interest rates of both dong and US dollar.

Accordingly, VIBBank's 12-month term saving rates will be 15% a year in dong and 6.5% pa in US dollar, nine months 14.5% and 6.8% pa, six months at 14.5% and 7.0% pa, three months at 14.5% and 6.8% pa and one-month at 13.5% and 6.5% pa respectively.

Recently, the bank launched the programme of "close customer care" to all individual customers whereby as for each saving worth one million dong within one-month, saver will receive 50 bonus points. The bonus points will be added together and converted to valuable presents.

HSBC awards VIB

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB Bank) on May 9 received the award of Prominent International Payment Bank from HSBC.

HSBC's award is built based on defining quality of international payment orders and yearly payment turnover of banks through the foreign bank. Head of Corporate Banking at HSBC reported, over 95% of VIB's payment orders are matched with Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)'s structure.

Previously, the locjavascript:void(0)
Publish Postal bank was granted the similar prize by Citigroup.

VIBBank targets 700b dong profit

Saturday, May 17, 2008
Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIBBank) recently announced that it would organise its shareholders' meeting on May 21 to pass this year's business plan with 700 billion dong from pre tax profit, 52.5 trillion dong in total asset, between 21.76 billion dong and 23.4 billion dong in outstanding loans, ROE at 20% and dividend of 15%.

Last year, VIBBank set a plan of 2.5 trillion dong in chartered capital, but at the end of 2007, the bank's chartered capital reached two trillion dong due to the bank has not found its foreign strategic partner yet.

In 2007, VIBBank's shareholders' meeting also granted authority to the director board to list shares. However, the bank's director board announced that the best time to list shares is after selling shares to foreign strategic partner.

VIB Bank launches E-Savings product

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Vietnam International Bank (VIB Bank) recently launched E-Savings product to all transaction sites nationwide whereby customers are allowed to receive a higher interest rate when their saving balance increasing respectively (progressive interest rate).
E-Savings was connected two-way automatic money delivery with payment deposit accounts to ensure payment capacity and receive progressive interest rates.
This product is suitable to all customers, especially those who prefer using modern technology

VIB Bank remains open after regular time

Monday, April 28, 2008
As of April 28, some Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB Bank) branches, namely the headquarter in Hanoi, Ba Dinh district branch, My Dinh transaction office (Hanoi) and District 5 branch, Thanh Do branch in Ho Chi Minh City, will remain open after regular hours.
The new working hours will be from 8.00-12.00 noon and 1pm-6.30pm on weekdays, and from 8-11am on Saturdays.
There will be no changes in the services for customers.
VIB Bank plans to apply the new timetable across the country from Sep 2008. (TBKTVN)