Le Thanh Trung, deputy general director of HDBank, receives the award for being the “Company with the best M&A Strategy of the Decade (2009-18) at the Viet Nam M&A Forum this week. – Photo Courtesy of HDBank.
The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank won two awards at the Viet Nam M&A Forum for being the “Company with the best Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Strategy of the Decade (2009-18) and making the “Outstanding IPO in 2017-18” in HCM City on August 8.
It was the only bank among the nominees for the best M&A strategy of the decade.
The jury hailed HDBank’s two eye-popping M&A deals in 2013: its acquisition of DaiABank and Société Générale Viet Finance, a French consumer finance company now renamed HD Saison Finance Co., Ltd.
The two deals also came in for praise from financial and banking experts for their both deployment methods and strong growth potential post-merger.
After the merger the bank quickly settled into a steady mode and went on to enjoy 30 per cent growth a year in the 2013-17 period, with its non-performing loan ratio always being the lowest in the industry.
In the past five years the banking sector has witnessed many more mergers, but few that achieved success like HDBank.
HDBank’s acquisition of Société Générale Viet Finance created a big buzz in the market at that time since it was the first time a domestic financial institution was buying a 100 per cent foreign-owned company.
In 2013 SGVF encountered a lot of difficulties due to a lack of understanding of the market and resources. With its strong financial strength, superior management capabilities, understanding of the local market, and partnership with Japan’s Credit Saison, HDBank turned what was a small finance company into one of the top three consumer finance companies in Viet Nam.
In the 2013-17 period, HD Saison’s assets surged nine-fold. It currently holds the number one position in terms of with nearly 13,000 transaction points in all 63 provinces and cities, which serve nearly five million customers.
HD Saison has the largest market share in the motorcycle loan segment and is deeply appreciated by its customers and partners for service quality.
It has won many prestigious honours like being named among the Top 500 Vietnamese Enterprises in 2016 and 2017 and the 50 Best Enterprises in Viet Nam in 2016 and 2017 by Vietnam Report and VietnamNet.
In 2016 it also won the award for Trusted Brand given by Vietnam Enterprise Institute.
M&A strategies with a unique vision and effective implementation have become a hallmark of HDBank in the eyes of financial and banking experts.
Continuing to identify M&A as an effective strategy in its plan to become the leading bank in retail and SME business, HDBank will acquire the Ha Noi-based Petrolimex Group Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PG Bank).
It was approved by a large majority of shareholders of the two banks last April and supported by the State Bank of Vietnam and other relevant agencies.
The merger is expected to be completed soon, enabling the bank to quickly deploy its retail banking strategy, expand and complete the customer eco-system and increase its branch network to 365 by the end of this year.
The transaction will also help the bank make more shares available to foreign investors, have a positive impact on the valuation of bank shares and bring other benefits to the bank and its shareholders, customers and partners.
HDBank also received the award for the Outstanding IPO in 2017-18 after raising over US$300 million late last year. It was the second largest IPO in the banking industry after Vietcombank’s.
In the eight months since its listing on HOSE, the HDB share has always been very liquid and attracted lots of buying interest among foreign investors.
The foreign ownership has increased from around 21.5 per cent at the time of listing to over 27 per cent now. The average liquidity of HDB has always been among the top in the market.
At the end of the first half HDBank had assets of over VND191 trillion. Its pre-tax profit in the first half was a record VND2.063 trillion, an increase of 134 per cent year-on-year.
It also had the lowest non-performing loans ratio in the industry of just 0.9 per cent.
The Viet Nam M&A Forum is organized by Viet Nam Investment Review and AVM Viet Nam. — VNS