State-owned shipping firm Viet Nam National Shipping Lines, raised a meagre VND54.3 billion (US$2.33 million) from an initial public offering (IPO) at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The firm had set an earning target of VND4.89 trillion.

The company, better known as Vinalines, sold 5.43 million shares or only 1.11 per cent of shares offered at the IPO, at an average price of VND10,002 a piece.

“Though Vinalines’ business performance has improved recently, the shipping industry hasn’t got out of a time of crisis,” Vinalines CEO Nguyen Canh Tinh said.

“This is why the IPO didn’t attract investors in the short term,” the CEO added.

Vinalines shares will be listed on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) within the next three months, Tinh said.

Vinalines sold the shares to 40 individual investors and two corporate investors. Foreign investors bought 6,200 shares.

The float is part of Viet Nam’s ambitious plans for IPOs for 64 State firms this year, as it looks to fill Government coffers with public debt levels nearing the mandated ceiling of 65 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Vinalines hoped to raise some $210 million from the sale of 488.82 million shares, or a 34.8 per cent stake, via the IPO.

Vinalines is a leading company in maritime transportation and logistics, shipbuilding and seaport exploitation in Viet Nam. Some of its affiliates are the Hai Phong Port JSC, Sai Gon Port JSC, the Viet Nam Ocean Shipping JSC, the Viet Nam Sea Transport and Chartering Company and Vinaship.

According to the company’s audited consolidated financial statements for 2017, Vinalines suffered an accumulated loss of nearly VND3.3 billion. Total assets and equity were VND28.1 billion and nearly VND8 billion, respectively.

In the first half of this year, Vinalines recorded revenue of VND6.3 trillion and net profit of VND23.9 billion. In the second half, the company plans to attain revenue of VND7.3 trillion, of which shipping activities are hoped to contribute VND2.4 trillion, while seaport exploitation is set to make up more than VND2 trillion, with the rest generated from marine services. The profit for the second half is expected to reach VND202 billion.

In 2019, Vinalines aims at revenue of VND12.7 trillion and pre-tax profit of VND711 billion. The corresponding figures for 2020 are VND13.4 trillion and VND953 trillion, respectively. — VNS