Forty foreign institutional investors have joined the race for shares of the Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDICO) at the firm’s initial public offering (IPO).

IDICO will auction more than 55.3 million shares or 18.44 per cent of the firm’s charter capital at the IPO for the starting price of VND18,000 (80 US cents) per share. The IPO is scheduled for October 5.

The number of shares that the 40 foreign institutional investors have registered to buy at the IPO is more than 89 million, 1.6 times the number of shares offered by IDICO, according to the HCM Stock Exchange.

Beside the 40 foreign institutional investors, nine foreign individuals, 25 Vietnamese institutional investors and 582 domestic individual investors, will also participate in the IPO, raising the number of investors to 656.

The total number of shares registered by the investors is more than 269.2 million, five times the number of shares offered by IDICO.

IDICO would receive at least VND1 trillion ($44.4 million) from the auction if the company succeeds in selling all the shares offered at the IPO.

Under the equitisation plan for IDICO, the company would have VND3 trillion in its post-equitisation charter capital, equal to 300 million shares.

The 300 million shares include 55.3 million shares that will be offered at the IPO, 108 million shares or 36 per cent of charter capital will be held by the government, 135 million shares or 45 per cent will be possessed by the strategic investor, and the remainder will be sold to the firm’s employees. — VNS