Foreign investment funds down holdings at Vietnam’s private lender Sacombank

Three foreign investment funds, namely Pyn Elite Fund, Norges Bank, and Amersham Industries Limited, have reduced their holdings or completely withdrawn from Vietnam’s private creditor Sacombank.

Finland’s Pyn Elite Fund sold more than 1.1 million STB shares of Sacombank in the trading session on February 26, reducing its ownership at the private lender from 6.02% (equivalent to 113.4 million shares) to 5.96% (112.3 million shares).

With the closing price of STB on February 26 at VND38,550 ($1.51) per share, the fund earned about VND42.8 billion ($1.68 million).

Since the update of the list of shareholders owning more than 1% of Sacombank’s charter capital in February 2025, Pyn Elite Fund has sold a total of 3.4 million STB shares. Previously, this fund held 115.7 million STB shares or a 6.14% stake.

Norges Bank of Norway reduced its holding at Sacombank from 1.27% (21.3 million shares) to 1.1% (20.9 million shares). Meanwhile, Amersham Industries Limited, a fund related to Dragon Capital, which had held 19 million shares or 1.01% as of January, no longer appears in Sacombank's shareholder list.

In contrast, SCB Vietnam Alpha Fund Not for Retail Investors of Thailand increased its stake in the bank from 1.43% (nearly 26.9 million shares) to 1.57% (29.6 million shares).

In 2024, Sacombank's pre-tax profit hit VND12.72 trillion ($498.63 million), a rise of 32.5% year-on-year. After deducting expenses, the bank reported a net profit of over VND10 trillion, the highest in its history, up 30.6% from 2023.

As of December 31, 2024, Sacombank's total assets had reached VND748.1 trillion ($29.33 billion), up 10.9% compared to the beginning of the year.

Customer loans increased by 11.7% year-on-year to VND539.32 trillion ($21.14 billion). The deposit balance stood at VND566.88 trillion, up 11%. The non-performing loan balance was VND12.96 trillion ($508 million), equivalent to a ratio of 2.4%.

STB shares closed Thursday at VND39,000 ($1.53) apiece.