A Vietravel office. The company will start trading 12.6 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on September 27. — Photo baokhanhhoa.vn

The Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transport JSC (Vietravel) will trade 12.6 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on September 27.

The company’s trading code is VTR and debuting price is VND40,000 (US$1.72) per share, valuing the firm at VND504 billion ($21.67 million), according to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

With a trading band of 40 per cent on either side on debut day, Vietravel shares may swing between VND24,000-56,000 per share.

The company had been the Tracodi Tour Centre under the Transport and Industry Development Investment Corporation (Tracodi).

It was renamed Vietravel in 1995 and equitised in 2014. The two largest shareholders now are chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky and Saigon Travel, holding 9.07 per cent and 16.22 per cent of the business.

Vietravel has no foreign shareholders. It has stakes in 10 subsidiaries and one associate business.

The company is planning to set up its aviation arm Vietravel Airlines, which will be headquartered in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue with charter capital of VND700 billion.

This will be the sixth airline in Viet Nam after the likes of Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Vasco, Bamboo Airways and Jetstar Pacific.

In February, the firm received a licence from the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.

The plan is being review by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and it will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

In the first half of this year, Vietravel’s net revenue is estimated at nearly VND3.98 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent.

The company’s pre-tax profit reached around VND30 billion, up 26 per cent compared to the same period last year and achieving 44 per cent of the year’s plan.

In 2019, the firm targets revenue of more than VND8.61 trillion and after-tax profit of VND60.8 billion. — VNS