A design of Long Thanh International Airport in HCM City. The airport is expected to receive the State's share of funds collected during the Airport Corporation of Viet Nam's IPO. — Photo kienviet.net

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Transport Ministry has approved the valuation of the Airport Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) at nearly VND38 trillion (US$1.8 billion) in preparation for its equitisation plan.

Of the total capital, the State ownership at the parent corporation is VND20.77 trillion ($989 million), not including the value of the assets in the service area for flight operations.

The ACV's equitisation, scheduled in the second quarter of this year, will be significant for the aviation sector. Transport minister Dinh La Thang had announced earlier that the State's share of funds collected during ACV's initial public offering will be invested in the first phase of the Long Thanh International Airport in HCM City.

ACV was established in 2012 by merging three northern, central and southern aviation corporations, making it one of the businesses with the largest capital in the transport infrastructure area.

ACV has registered capital of nearly VND14.7 trillion ($700 million). It has 24 subsidiaries, managing businesses at 22 international and domestic airports nationwide. In 2014, the corporation earned an estimated VND8.57 trillion ($408 million) in revenue, 0.86 per cent higher than last year.

The corporation equitised two subsidiaries, including the Southern Airports Services Company Limited and Saigon Ground Services (SAGS), last year. Both companies attracted a record number of investors.

SAGS made record sales by selling more than 2.7 million shares for an average VND44,693 (US$2.12) per share, which was 3.6 times higher than its initial price. The number of investors who registered to buy SAGS shares was 15 times more than the 2.7 million shares that were offered in the company's IPO. — VNS