Up to 777 investors have registered to buy shares of Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) at an auction due on April 17, according to Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

At the auction, Vietcombank will sell all of its 6.67 million OCB shares at a starting price of VND13,000 (57 US cents) per share.

The total number of shares that investors have registered to buy is more than 73.3 million, 11 times higher than the auctioned shares. The investors include eight institutions and 669 individuals.

The northern bourse said OCB’s charter capital had reached VND5 trillion (US$220 million), with more than 110 units nationwide.

Last year, the bank earned VND816 billion in after-tax profit, double the amount in 2016. Its total assets increased by 32 per cent to VND84.3 trillion. Meanwhile, lending surged by 25 per cent to reach more than VND48.1 trillion.

Offloading holdings at OCB is one of Vietcombank’s moves to comply with the central bank’s Circular 36, which allows commercial banks to hold shares in a maximum of two other credit institutions, with the stake in each not exceeding 5 per cent of the total equity of that institution.

Apart from OCB, Vietcombank currently holds shares in Eximbank and Military Bank. — VNS