A big and highly-anticipated IPO this month is from Airports Corporation of Viet Nam, the sole manager of all 22 international and domestic airports in the country.— File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — About 20 companies are projected to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) on domestic exchanges this month with a total estimated value of more than VND4 trillion (US$178.6 million).

The IPO of industrial zone developer Sonadezi Corporation, expected on December 30, is the biggest offering in terms of value with 131.3 million shares being put up for sales, equivalent to 34.9 per cent of the company's charter capital.

With the starting price of VND10,200 (46 cents) a share, Sonadezi is expected to collect VND1.34 trillion ($59.8 million). It is one of the largest industrial park developers in Viet Nam with 10 parks under its operation in southern Dong Nai Province.

Another big and highly-anticipated IPO this month is from Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), the sole manager of all 22 international and domestic airports in the country.

Over 78 million shares of ACV, about 3.47 per cent of its charter capital, will be sold in the IPO today with the starting price of VND11,800 (53 cents) a share.

According to the HCM Stock Exchange, 306 investors have registered to buy a total of 114 million shares, of which foreign investors seek to buy nearly 85 million shares, equivalent to 74.6 per cent of total bids. With such positive bids, ACV is expected to sell all of its shares and raise at least VND918 billion ($40.8 million).

The December IPO wave will also see participation of smaller companies including Civil Engineering Construction Corp No 6 (Cienco 6), Phu Tho Tourist Co, Ha Noi Railway Transport Co Ltd, and Tay Ninh Sugar Co Ltd (Tanisugar), apart from Binh Duong Building Materials and Construction Co Ltd.

The Ministry of Transport will sell its entire holding of 92.9 per cent stakes in Cienco 6 worth over VND450 billion ($20.1 million) on December 31. Other companies will offer between 14 per cent and 41 per cent of their charter capital, valued from VND114 billion ($5.1 million) to VND363 billion ($16.2 million).

However, not all IPOs have attracted investors.

Saigon Railway Transport Co Ltd successfully sold 7.2 million shares offered in its IPO on December 7 but Vinacomin – Viet Bac Geology Joint Stock Company saw only 4.5 per cent of its offering sold in the IPO held on the same day.

Some upcoming IPOs also witnessed low registered participation, such as Ha Noi Railway with only 10 investors registering to buy 247,000 shares, only 2 per cent of the maximum offering of 11.3 million shares.

The share sale of Song Cong I Industrial Zone development project, offered by Thai Nguyen Industrial Zone Infrastructure Development Co also seems to be unattractive with investors having registered to buy only 80,500 shares out of total offering of 15.9 million shares. — VNS