Vietcombank plans IPO in 3rd quarter: official

Vietcombank plans IPO in 3rd quarter: official

State-owned Vietcombank, Vietnam's second-largest bank by assets, plans to offer shares to the public in the third quarter of this year, bank General Director Vu Viet Ngoan said Monday.
"Vietcombank is in its final steps to prepare for an initial public offering, which is expected to be in July or August this year," Ngoan said.
The bank would have two IPOs, the first in the country and the second in an overseas market next year, Ngoan told Dow Jones Newswire.
He said Vietcombank, or Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, would give details about its share-selling plans in the coming weeks.
Vietcombank's Chairman Nguyen Hoa Binh told the media last week the bank was expected to sign a contract this month with a foreign consultancy company to help it prepare for its IPO later this year.
By the end of 2006, Vietcombank had assets of VND169.46 trillion ($10.06 billion), up 23.9 percent on year.
It made a net profit of VND2.47 trillion during the year, up 91.5 percent year on year, the bank's figures showed.
Vietcombank is one of the four state-run banks ordered by the government to offer shares to the public this year.
The other three are Vietindebank, Vietnam's third-largest ban,k Incombank and the Mekong Delta Housing Development Bank. Agribank, the country's largest bank, would follow in 2008.
Currently, Vietnamese law allows foreigners to have a 30 percent maximum stake in its domestic banks.
Source: Dow Jones Newswire