State-run BIDV, the country's second-largest lender by assets, planned to issue 603 million shares or a 15% stake through private placement to KEB Hana Bank, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hana Financial Group, after unconfirmed rumors, the former said in a statement on its website.
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The move would reduce the state ownership at the bank from 95.28% to 80.99%.
Foreign ownership in a Vietnamese bank is capped at 30%. A foreign investor is allowed to hold up to a 15% stake in a local bank while the room for a foreign strategic investor is set at 20%.
BIDV is one of Vietnam's four major government-run commercial banks. It staged its initial public offering (IPO) in 2011 and was listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in 2012.
KEB Hana Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking, trust banking, foreign exchange, and merchant banking services to retail and corporate customers in South Korea and around the globe.
On January 5, the chairman of KEB Hana Bank met with the Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, emphasizing the cooperation between Hana Bank and BIDV.
BIDT targeted its pre-tax profit in 2018 to reach VND9.3 trillion (US$399 million), for which the lender has completed 78% of the target as of September 2018.
