Commonwealth Bank of Australia further sells 10% stake in Vietnam bank VIB

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has sold a further 10% stake in Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB).

In a Tuesday statement, CBA said the transaction was made on Tuesday, October 29, and the settlement is expected to proceed two days later (October 31). Shares of the Vietnamese bank are listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as VIB.

CBA is set to receive total gross proceeds of AUD320 million ($209.4 million) from the transaction. Sales of shares in VIB can lead to a gain of approximately AUD50 million in the first quarter of next year, the Australia-headquartered bank said.

The transaction is consistent with CBA’s strategy to focus on its banking businesses in Australia and New Zealand. After the move, CBA's ownership at VIB drops to about 5%. In September, CBA had sold a 5% stake in this bank.

According to the list of 18 shareholders holding 1% or more of VIB's charter capital, announced by the bank in early August, CBA was the largest shareholder with more than 503 million bank shares, or a nearly 19.84% stake.

CBA has been a shareholder in VIB since 2010 and has supported the company in becoming one of the leading joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam.

VIB has further opportunity to grow, and the broadening of its shareholder base will support the bank’s future ambitions, CBA said.

VIB’s audited post-tax profit reached VND3,684 billion ($150 million) in the first half of this year, down 18.4% year-on-year. The lender made a net interest income of VND7,981 billion in the period, down 8.3% year-on-year.

As of end-June 2024, the bank’s total asset grew 5.1% to VND430,962 billion ($17.55 billion). Its loans to customers reached VND273,996 billion, while customer deposits were VND247,630 billion.