PENM IV Germany GmbH & Co KG is seeking to purchase another 5.5 million shares of Hoa Phat Group (HPG) in an attempt to raise its stakes in the company’s profit-making potential.

The transactions are expected to be conducted from March 8 to April 6.

At the current price of around VND41,000 (US$1.80) a share, Germany’s closed-end fund is estimated to spend at least VND222.5 billion, or around $10 million, to finance the purchase.

Last week, the fund bought 3 million HPG shares, equivalent to 0.36 per cent of the firm’s capital, for an undisclosed amount. If the next purchase is completed successfully, the fund’s stakes here will increase to 1 per cent.

Prices of Hoa Phat’s shares declined 11.4 per cent from its peak of VND45,150 apiece on February 15 to VND40,000 on February 28 after the steelmaker had announced lower profit target for 2017.

The share prices rose again in early March following information that the firm raised its earnings target by 20 per cent compared with the initial plan of VND6 trillion this year. However, this figure is still VND600 billion lower than its record profits in 2016.

The company will hold the 2017 annual shareholders’ meeting on March 10 in Ha Noi. – VNS