A Bamboo Airways plane. The company expects to collect $100 million from its initial public offering (IPO), raising its total charter capital to nearly VNĐ4 trillion. — Photo flc.vn

New budget carrier Bamboo Airways plans to list 400 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange or Ha Noi Stock Exchange in January 2020 at the earliest.

The starting price would range from VND50,000–VND60,000 (US$2.59), said Deputy General Director Nguyen Khac Hai.

The carrier’s chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Bloomberg that Bamboo Airways expected to collect $100 million from the initial public offering (IPO), raising its total charter capital to nearly VND4 trillion.

The airline will take the delivery of an additional five aircraft this year to expand its fleet to 25, and has plans to increase that to 30 next year.

Quyet said Bamboo Airways had set a goal of becoming the first airline in Viet Nam to launch direct flights to the US by the late 2020.

The carrier now operates 26 domestic and international routes to Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and China.

This year, it will continue expanding to 37–40 routes, including those to the RoK, Taiwan (China) and Southeast Asia. — VNS