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Banking & Finance
May 21, 2018 / 10:41

OCB expects market value to reach US$1 billion

Ngoc Thuy

Vietnam`s Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) expects its market capitalization to rise to $1 billion after its planned listing on the country`s benchmark bourse during the second half of the year, according to Bloomberg.

OCB planned to list 750 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange late third quarter or early fourth quarter, said Chairman Trinh Van Tuan in Bloomberg's report.
 
Illustration photo.
Illustration photo.
The bank plans to sell VND800 billion (US$35 million) of shares to investors via private placement in the third quarter after issuing 14.2% of dividend shares and 20.5% of shares to existing shareholders, Tuan said in his Ho Chi Minh City office Friday. OCB expects to boost its registered capital by 50% to VND7.5 trillion through the share issuances before its planned listing, the chairman said.
The lender also plans to offer as much as 25% of its shares to foreign investors before the listing, according to Tuan.
The bank is planning roadshows in Singapore, Hong Kong and London in June and July, Tuan said. It has garnered interest from multiple investors from Asia, Australia and Europe, he added. 
"We are one of a few high-growth and good private banks in Vietnam that have more than a 25% stake available to foreign investors," he said. Vietnam's strong economy and stock market is providing the bank an opportune time to seek investors, Tuan said.
OCB's listing would make it the fourth Vietnamese bank to list on the nation's major exchange this year, following HDBank, Tien Phong Bank and Techcombank, which plans to trade shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange next month.
Banking peer Tien Phong Bank had a similar goal after its Vietnam listing -- getting its value to at least US$1 billion in the fourth quarter. A month after its listing, its market cap is sitting at about US$715.9 million. This comes at a time when the Vietnam benchmark index has lost almost US$20 billion in value since its April 9 record as investors sold equity holdings to buy into new issues and stockpile cash.
Even so, Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, known as Vietcombank, last month sold 6.67 million shares of Orient Commercial Bank through a public auction at an average price almost double the initial offering of VND13,000 (US$0.57) per share after receiving oversubscribed bids, according to the Hanoi Stock Exchange.
OCB targets annual profit growth of 50-60% beginning in 2019, Tuan said. The bank sees 2018 pretax profit doubling to VND2 trillion (US$87.5 million), according to the chairman, who with family holds nearly 18% of the lender's shares. The bank this year targets expanding total assets by 37% to VND116 trillion (US$5.075 billion) and restricting non-performing loans below 2%, less than the government's overall banking sector target of below 3%.

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