Agribank will sell more than 468,000 Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) shares at auction on November 29.

At a starting price of VND18,130 (77 US cents) per share, the bank is estimated to earn some VND8.5 billion if the auction succeeds.

OCB shares are traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market at a price of VND15,000-17,000 apiece, lower than Agribank’s offered price.

As for Agribank, it is stepping up the divestment from its non-core business sector. The bank’s chairman Trinh Ngoc Khanh announced that his bank will complete the corporate valuation process by the end of the year before launching an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020.

Agribank hasn’t so far released its nine-month business results, but its pre-tax profit was positive in the first half, rising 37 per cent to VND3.8 trillion.

By the end of June, Agribank’s total assets were 3.9 per cent higher than at the beginning of the year, reaching VND1,197 trillion. The bank’s total outstanding loans increased by 5.6 per cent to VND925.21 trillion while mobilised capital climbed 2.5 per cent to VND1,053 trillion.

According to OCB general director Nguyen Dinh Tung, OCB will meet its profit target of VND2 trillion this year as the bank posted profit of VND1.84 trillion in the first three quarters of the year, up 133 per cent against the same period last year. — VNS