Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) has announced that Him Lam JSC is no longer a shareholder of the bank from June 23.
Previously, Him Lam was LienVietPostBank’s largest shareholder, with 96.77 million shares, equal to 14.98 per cent of the charter capital. Duong Cong Minh, former chairman of LienVietPostBank, owns 99 per cent stake in the company. At VND12,500 per share, Minh could earn VND1.2 trillion (US$53 million) from the sale of nearly 97 million of the bank’s shares.
Nguyen Duc Huong, chairman of the management board of LienVietPostBank, confirmed on Tuesday that Him Lam’s divestment would not affect to the bank’s business results. In fact, its results this year are expected to be better than the previous years.
After divestment, Viet Nam Post Corporation (VNPOST) has become the largest shareholder of LienVietPostBank, owning around 15 per cent of its charter capital. Recently, many senior officials of the bank registered to buy a large number of its shares, Huong said, adding that other members of the management board have continued to buy shares.
Huong and several others have increased their ownership to 6 per cent.
In another move, Pham Doan Son, vice-chairman and general director of LienVietPostBank, registered to directly buy another 6.5 million shares. Son had bought 5.1 million shares of the bank on June 7. He would have spent around VND50 billion, at the rate of VND10,000 to VND10,200 per share, at the time.
The bank’s deputy general director Bui Thai Ha has also registered to directly buy 5.2 million shares.
“The bank wants all its staff to own shares so that LienVietPostBank becomes the first bank in Viet Nam where all staffs are shareholders,” Huong told online newspaper Dan Tri, adding that the move is aimed at instilling a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the bank.
The bank is expected to trade on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) from next month, thus preparing for its listing in the stock market, Huong revealed.
By the end of June, it is estimated that LienVietPostBank’s pre-tax profit will reach VND900 billion ($39.6 million), 60 per cent of its annual target. With these results, the bank plans to pay a dividend of 12 per cent in 2017.
“We will also promote key plans in the future,” the chairman said. Specifically, the bank will continue to expand its network to communes across the country through the postal saving system, as well as make investments in e-banking.
Meanwhile, on June 30, Sacombank will hold its annual general meeting (AGM). In its latest statement, the bank said the current list of candidates for its board of directors (BOD) has not yet been approved and cannot be announced.
Earlier, Minh left the chairmanship of LienVietPostBank, while Huong returned to LienVietPostBank after putting his name on the list of candidates for Sacombank’s BOD.
Investors predict that Minh is more likely to be selected as a candidate for Sacombank’s BOD. However, to be able to participate in Sacombank’s restructuring process, Minh has to divest from LienVietPostBank to avoid cross-ownership, in accordance with the State Bank of Viet Nam’s regulations. — VNS