BNP Paribas has offloaded its entire stake of over 74.7 million shares, or 18.68 per cent of capital, in Orient Commercial Bank (OCB), ending the 10-year alliance between the two banks.

The transaction was completed on December 26, but the value of the deal and buyer’s name have yet to be disclosed. The French lender is no longer OCB’s strategic investor, the Vietnamese bank has announced.

This is considered an unexpected move in the context that many foreign investors have tended to jump into the Vietnamese banking sector.

BNP Paribas purchased a 10 per cent equity stake in OCB in February 22, 2008, and raised its interest to 15 per cent in February 2009 and 20 per cent in 2011. During the 10-year co-operation, BNP Paribas provided financial and human resources for OCB.

Following the French lender’s withdrawal, foreign ownership limit in OCB has been capped at 4.98 per cent, OCB said in the statement on December 27.

In a related development, Vietcombank registered to sell nearly 19 million OCB shares on December 29, however only 13.1 million shares were bought at the average selling price of over VND13,000 (US$0.57) per share. Vietcombank collected over VND171 billion from the sale.

OCB’s shares are, meanwhile, trading on the Over-The-Counter market at some VND14,000-VND17,000 per share.

Ending September 2017, OCB’s total assets reached over VND70.8 trillion ($3.1 billion), up 11 per cent year-on-year. Its pre-tax profit was VND792 billion in nine months, surpassing its yearly target by 1 per cent.

The bank’s bad debt ratio increased from 1.75 per cent in early 2017 to 2.1 per cent in September. — VNS