Consequently, GIC sold 265,900 shares of VJC to bring down its stake from 22.71 million shares, or 5.03% earlier, to 22.44 million shares, informed the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on March 29.
GIC no longer a major shareholder of VietJet Air.
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Going by the current stock price of VND203,000 (US$8.98), Sovico is expected to spend approximately VND2.8 trillion (US$123.2 million) to up its ownership in the airline.
CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao directly owns 39.6 million shares, equivalent to an 8.76% stake, in the airline.
Sunflower Sunny Investment Company Limited, wholly-owned by Thao, currently is the largest shareholder of VietJet Air with 129 million shares, equivalent to a 28.57% stake. HD Bank, of which Thao is the permanent vice-chairman, also owns a 5% stake in the carrier.
VietJet's US$170-million IPO, which attracted buyers like BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, was Vietnam's first internationally marketed and at that time, its largest initial public offering. GIC was the only foreign major shareholder in the company at that time. Local legislation defines a major shareholder as one with at least 5% stake and voting rights.
The low-cost carrier's total net revenue in 2017 stood at nearly VND42.258 trillion (US$1.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 53.7%. Its pre-tax profit was approximately VND4.755 billion (US$211.3 million), up 75.9% year on year.
Vietnam currently has four airlines, including national carrier Vietnam Airlines, budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines (partly owned by Vietnam Airlines), budget carrier Vietjet Aviation, and Vietnam Air Services (VASCO).
In 2010-2016, the Vietnamese air transportation market has witnessed a high average growth rate of 14.9% in passenger volume and 10.7% in cargo, informed Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration.
During the first 9 months of 2017, Vietnamese airports have served more than 71.75 million passengers, up 17.9%, and handled 833,000 tons of cargo, up 34.6% compared to the corresponding period in 2016.
A recent World Tourism & Travel Council report showed the tourism industry's contribution to Vietnam's gross domestic product will increase by nearly 90% to $34.6 billion in 2027 from the $18.4 billion recorded last year.
