A customer carries out a transaction at Mekong Development Bank. The bank plans to reach $10.5 million in pre-tax profits this year. — Photo infonet.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Mekong Development Bank (MDB)'s shareholders' meeting on April 15 adopted a plan for it to merge with a credit institution.

This was reported by Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) online, citing bank sources, which stated that the shareholders authorized the bank's management board to finalise the merger plan, but did not divulge further details on the name of the institution with which it is planning a merger.

Some media reports had previously claimed that the bank will possibly merge with Maritime Bank, which holds 10.16 per cent of its total equity.

On April 15, Maritime Bank Securities Co. Chairman Le Dinh Ngoc and Viet Nam Investment Development Group Capital Manager Chu Duc Tuan were voted as the new members of the MDB's management board. The group is believed to have a close relationship with Maritime Bank.

According to a representative from the Maritime Bank, a merger will be among the key issues to be discussed at its shareholders' meeting this weekend.

According to Dau tu, MDB has a charter capital of VND3.75 trillion (US$178.57 million). In this case, strategic foreign partner Fullerton Financial Holdings holds a stake of 20 per cent, Securities Investment Fund Manager An Phuc holds 13.34 per cent, Phuc Tien Investment holds 10 per cent, and Maritime Bank Securities represents 7.39 per cent.

MDB estimates its total assets to be around VND9.8 trillion (US$466.67 million), pre-tax profits of VND222 billion (US$10.57 million), and a dividend rate of 3.5 per cent for this year.

Maritime Bank has VND8 trillion (US$380.95 million) in equity, achieving VND107 trillion (US$5.09 billion) in total assets and VND340 billion (US$16.19 million) in after-tax profits last year. — VNS