The starting price for the initial public offering (IPO) of the Vietnam Television Cable Corporation (VTVCab) has been set at VND140,900 (US$6.26) per share.

VTVCab will sell 42.2 million shares, or 47.84 per cent of the firm’s charter capital, at its upcoming IPO on April 17 at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

Under its equitisation plan, which was approved by the Prime Minister in January 2016, VTV Cab will have a charter capital of VND884 billion ($39.3 million), with the Government reducing its ownership to 51 per cent (more than 45 million shares).

The total value of the company as of December 31, 2015, was more than VND7.9 trillion ($351 million), with the Government holding more than 80 per cent stake.

More than one million shares (1.16 per cent of the capital) will be sold to the pay TV provider’s current employees at cheap prices.

VTVCab is a State-owned enterprise founded in 1995. In 2012, the company was renamed to its current name and had opened more than 100 offices and branches across the country.

During the 2014-16 period, VTVCab posted a steady growth in its total revenue, but its post-tax profit showed some decline.

It earned an average of VND2 trillion in total revenue during that period. Its post-tax profit rose to VND130.5 billion in 2015 from VND126.5 billion in 2014 but fell sharply to VND76.5 billion a year later, in 2016.

During 2018-20, the company projects its total revenue to increase from VND2.95 trillion in 2018 to VND3.5 trillion in 2019 and VND3.96 trillion in 2020.

Its pre-tax profit for the next period is also expected to rise from VND74.3 billion (in 2018) to VND81 billion and VND106.6 billion in the next two years, respectively. — VNS