ACV's equitisation plan is awaiting for approval from the Prime Minister. — Photo vtv.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The transport ministry has submitted the equitisation plan of the Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) to the Prime Minister for approval.

Under the plan, the ministry proposes to reduce the state ownership from 75 per cent to 65 per cent.

The state's shares are proposed to be sold at appropriate times after the ACV is equitised.

Depending on the real demand for capital at different periods, ACV would sell the state's shares, while ensuring the state ownership in the ACV would not be less than 65 per cent of its charter capital, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong was quoted as saying by Dau tu (Investment) Newspaper.

Under the equitisation plan, ACV will also issue more shares to increase its charter capital. As a result, ACV is assessed to be among the corporations that have the largest charter capital in the country.

Earlier, the transport ministry approved the valuation of the ACV at nearly VND38 trillion (US$1.75 billion). Of the total capital, the state ownership is VND20.77 trillion ($957 million), excluding the value of the assets in the service area for flight operations.

Regarding ACV's initial public offering plan, the ministry will sell more than 77.8 million shares for an average price of VND11,100 ($0.52) each.

All capital gained from the ACV equitisation plan and the state's share of funds collected during ACV's initial public offering will be invested in the construction of the Long Thanh International Airport.

In the first phase of the equitisation plan, the state will hold 75 per cent of ACV's charter capital, while 20 per cent will be sold to strategic investors and 3.47 per cent will be sold at public auctions.

The road map to reduce the state ownership to 65 per cent will depend on the capital investment demand from the state budget for the Long Thanh airport project.

According to the government's latest report on the Long Thanh Airport sent to the National Assembly Standing Committee, the airport's value is estimated at $15.8 billion, with the first phase being worth $5.2 billion.

If 35 per cent of the state's shares is sold at VND11,100 each, the ministry could collect VND8 trillion (about $368 million) for the construction of Long Thanh airport, helping to reduce public debt pressure.

ACV's equitisation plan has attracted great interest from several foreign investors, including those from Japan and France.

Established in 2012 by merging three airport corporations in northern, central and southern Viet Nam, ACV is the country's largest airport operator.

ACV has registered capital of nearly VND14.7 trillion ($677 million). It has 24 subsidiaries that manage businesses at 22 international and domestic airports nationwide. In 2014, the corporation earned an estimated VND8.57 trillion ($394 million) in revenue, 0.86 per cent higher than in 2013. — VNS