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| Vietnam Airlines equitisation plan has been approved. It plans to launch initial public offerings in September this year. — Photo vietnamairlines.com |
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the equitisation plan of Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, with a registered capital of about VND14 trillion or $671.4 million.
Nguyen Trong Dung, Director of the Business Innovation Department under the Government Office, made the announcement at a seminar last Wednesday, according to danviet.vn, the online publication.
The seminar, entitled "Equitisation of State-owned Enterprises and Investment Opportunities," was part of Gateway 2014 to Viet Nam, an annual event for investors and companies to interact and build better investment and business opportunities in HCM City.
Dung said the State would continue holding a 75-per cent stake in Vietnam Airlines. After equitisation and once it has met all requirements, the company will be listed on the stock exchange, and State ownership will be reduced to 65 per cent.
The plan allows the business to launch its initial public offering of 49 million shares for VND22,300 each, or US$1.06.
Dung declined to reveal the exact amount paid to the foreign consulting company that assessed the price of Vietnam Airlines but said it was in the millions of US dollars. This exceeds one of the Ministry of Finance's regulations.
By the end of 2014, the Government is expected to approve the equitisation plans and the launching of initial public offerings of about 150 businesses. There are more than 430 State-owned enterprises in the list of equitisation, of which 253 are undergoing a business assessment process.
Vu Bang, chairman of the State Securities Commission, reported that the indices on the HCM City and Ha Noi stock exchanges increased from 24 to 25 per cent by end- August 2014, a 40-per cent increase in market capitalisation compared with that of the early part of this year.
Meanwhile, foreign investors' investment capital increased by 2.5 per cent compared with that of the same period last year. — VNS