The Vietnamese lender currently holds 22.4 million shares, equivalent to 1.21% of chartered capital. In case the transaction is completed, Vietcombank’s shareholding in Vietnam Airlines will be reduced to 0.8%.
Vietcombank has registered to offload 7.6 million shares of Vietnam Airlines.
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In a recent move, the government has informed its decision of reducing state ownership in Vietnam Airlines. Specifically, in the first Quarter of 2018, Vietnam Airlines will issue an additional of 191 million shares for existing shareholders as plan to increase its chartered capital.
Moreover, the state-owned airline will transfer the right to purchase 57.9 million state shareholder’s shares, according to the plan approved by the government in May 2017. As such, state ownership in Vietnam Airlines will have its reduction from 86.16% to 82%, and continue to decrease to 51% in 2019.
2017 is proving to be a successful year for Vietcombank, with its consolidated pre-tax profit reached VND11 trillion (US$485 million), a sharp increase of 32.9% over the last year and 16% higher than the target, making it the most profitable bank in the Vietnamese banking sector. As the bank with the largest market capitalization, Vietcombank’s stock price hit a record of VND58,000 (US$2.5) on January 12, bringing the bank’s market capitalization to VND155 trillion (US$6.8 billion).
The bank earlier purchased 22.4 million Vietnam Airlines' shares in its initial public offering (IPO) by the end of 2014 at VND22,300 ($0.9) per share. Along with shares of Vietjet Air, Vietnam Airlines' shares are experiencing a strong growth rate, mainly thanks to positive business results at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018.
At present, Vietnam Airlines' share is valued at VND63,700 (US$2.8) per share, equaling market capitalization value of over VND78 trillion (US$3.4 billion) and lifting the value of shares of Vietcombank at the national flag carrier to VND1.4 trillion ($61.6 million), a three-fold increase after two years holding the shares.
The national carrier will also list its shares on the benchmark stock exchange in Ho Chi Minh (HOSE) in the second quarter of this year to easily mobilize funds for its fleet and international network expansion. In 2017, Vietnam Airlines’ total revenue stood at VND88.4 trillion ($3.9 billion), with pre-tax profit at a record VND2.8 trillion ($124.4 million), surpassing the annual plan by 72 per cent and 8.3 per cent higher than in 2016.
