The auction of An Phat Holdings Group at HOSE on Monday morning. — VNS Photo

An Phat Holdings Group (APH) on Monday successfully held an auction of 4.3 million shares at Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) with a total value of VND215 billion (US$9.25 million).

With a starting price of VND25,000 per share, there were 109 investors participating in the auction. The highest price paid was VND52,800 per share.

All 4.3 million shares were sold to 15 investors with an average auction price of VND50,018 each, double the starting price. APH was valued at more than VND6.6 trillion.

The capital raised would be used to invest in a fully biodegradable material factory, AnBio. The plant, with total investment of VND1.5 trillion, is expected to start construction in the northern port city of Hai Phong at the beginning of 2021. It is scheduled to come into operation by the end of 2022 with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes of products a year.

It is expected that in the next 3-5 years, the proportion of fully biodegradable bags could increase from the current 10 per cent to about 50 per cent in APH's packaging revenue structure. This significantly improves the group's overall profit margin.

The group planned to issue 20 million more shares, equal to 14 per cent of its circulating amount. APH is negotiating with foreign investors on its development strategies.

Pham Do Huy Cuong, the group’s Standing Deputy General Director and Financial Director, said: “The IPO and listing on HOSE would help APH raise capital and improve ability to implement long-term targets. APH was expected to become a leading high-tech and environmentally friendly plastic group in Southeast Asia region in the next five years.”

The group would organise a roadshow at the beginning of next month before its official listing.

It targeted net revenue and profit of VND12 trillion and VND650 billion respectively this year. In the long term, APH’s growth momentum will come from fully biodegradable products through investment in the AnBio plant. — VNS