Becamex's ownership in joint venture with Warburg Pincus to drop

Becamex IDC, Vietnam's leading developer of large-scale industrial townships, has decided not to buy shares expected to be offered to potential investors and employees of its joint venture BW Industrial Development with Warburg Pincus.

The joint venture plans to issue new shares to increase its capital from VND13,774 billion ($581.9 million) to more than VND17,826 billion ($753.1 million). If the issuance succeeds and due to the Becamex refusal, its ownership in BW would drop to 23.18% from the current 30%

Becamex and global leading investment fund Warburg Pincus established the joint venture in January. BW is headquartered in Binh Duong province bordering Ho Chi Minh City.

BW has more than $200 million in initial charter capital. It owns 7.76 million square meters of industrial land across 35 projects in different parts of Vietnam, according to the company's website. Many of them are in Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai provinces.

This September, Becamex bought back VND200 billion ($8.5 million) worth of bonds before maturity. The value of outstanding bonds decreased from VND1,800 billion ($76.51 million) to VND1,600 billion ($67.98 million).

Becamex is a leading developer of large-scale industrial townships in Vietnam and the Vietnamese partner of Singapore's Sembcorp Industries in the VSIP joint venture. Warburg Pincus manages over $44 billion in assets.