Maritime Bank and Mekong Development Bank will merge next month. — Image cafef.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Maritime Bank (MSB) will merge with the Mekong Development Bank (MDB) next month.

The State Bank of Viet Nam issued a decision on the merger on July 21, asking the two commercial banks to finalise the deal and related legal procedures within 15 working days of the decision taking effect on August 12.

MSB announced on its website in March that it had 800 million shares circulating in the market, while MDB had 375 million shares. Their stock was valued at VND10,000 (45 US cents) each.

MSB will issue 375 million additional shares to carry out the merger, with every share of MDB being converted into an MSB share. All rights and interests, as well as responsibilities of the existing shareholders of the banks will be retained.

The new institution will be named Maritime Bank, and will have a charter capital of VND11.75 trillion ($539 million) and total assets of VND113 trillion ($5.18 billion).

The merger plan was approved at the two banks' shareholders' meetings in 2013, with the aim of boosting financial strength and competitiveness. The banks expect the merger to help them be counted among the largest banks nationwide, in terms of charter capital and transaction network. — VNS