HCM Stock Exchange (HoSE) has received an application from Techcombank to list more than 1.16 billion shares on its bourse.

According to HoSE, Ban Viet Securities Company has been selected as the consulting institution for Techcombank’s listing.

Techcombank last week also launched the nation’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise as much as $922 million and has attracted global funds as cornerstone investors.

Reuters had reported that Techcombank was offering shares at a price range of VND120,000-128,000 per share (US$5.27-$5.62), which is expected to raise between $864 million and $922 million.

Singapore wealth fund GIC, Fidelity Management and Research, and Dragon Capital are among the funds coming in as cornerstone investors.

Techcombank’s IPO, scheduled in June, will be larger than Warburg Pincus-backed Vincom Retail’s IPO last year, which raised some $700 million.

The IPO is expected to value the bank at some $6.1-$6.5 billion, ranking it among the 10 largest listed local companies.

The lender got a boost last month when Warburg Pincus agreed to invest more than $370 million in the bank in the largest-ever private equity investment in Viet Nam.

According to a source with knowledge of the transaction, the demand from cornerstone investors is so strong that some 76 per cent of the IPO is being allocated to such investors, much higher than in other IPOs.

The source said investors were keen to put in money in one of the fastest-growing banks in Southeast Asia while the country’s strong economic growth had also attracted a range of international investors.

“Techcombank is focused on retail and fee income, a story that long-only funds are keen to play,” said the source on condition of anonymity.

The 25-year-old bank provides a broad range of banking products and services to more than 5.4 million Vietnamese customers. It has an extensive network of 315 branches across the country. — VNS