PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant PetroVietnam, will sell 49 per cent of its stake later this year, with priority given to strategic investors.

The corporation is going ahead with the equitisation process, and its initial public offering (IPO) is planned for October, Ho Cong Ky, chairman of PV Power’s management board, said at a press conference on Wednesday while speaking about the company’s performance.

Equitisation is expected to be difficult in 2017 and 2018 as the three large oil and gas corporations will open IPOs this year. The volume of PV Power shares offered to the public will account for only four to five per cent of its capital; the rest will be sold to long-term strategic investors.

PV Power’s general director Nguyen Xuan Hoa said 100 businesses have shown interest in acquiring the company’s stakes, and the corporation is considering 10 large investors from Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, the Middle East and the European Union.

PV Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroVietnam established in 2007, is the second largest power producer in Viet Nam after the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). It produces and sells electricity as well as repairs and maintains power plants. It also provides equipment and spare parts, sells coal to power plants and develops power projects.

The company has a chartered capital of VND21.7 trillion (US$960 million). Currently, it is operating eight power plants, including four gas-fired power plants, three hydropower plants and one coal-fired thermal plant with a total designed capacity of 4,208MW.

In 2016, PV Power contributed 21 billion kWh to the national grid. The company plans to invest in nine gas-fired power projects and four coal-fired thermal projects with a total capacity of 10,000MW in the future. — VNS