Commonwealth Bank of Australia sells 5% stake in Vietnamese bank VIB

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), a multinational bank headquartered in Australia, is selling a 5% stake in Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB).

In a Tuesday statement, CBA said the transaction was executed on Tuesday and the settlement is expected to take place on Thursday. VIB is listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as VIB.

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

The partial sale of CBA’s shareholding in VIB is consistent with the former’s strategy to focus on its banking businesses in Australia and New Zealand, the bank added.

Total gross proceeds to be received by CBA from the transaction are approximately AUD160 million ($110 million). The transaction is expected to deliver a pro forma uplift to CBA’s CET1 ratio of approximately three basis points on an Australian Prudential Regulation Authority basis.

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 VND3,684.1 billion ($150 million) in the first half of this year, down 18.4% year-on-year. The lender made a net interest income of VND7,981.4 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 VND273,996.2 billion while customer deposits were VND247,629.8 billion.

VIB shares closed up 1.83% to VND19,450 ($0.79) each at the close on Wednesday.