Leading construction firm Hoa Binh to register shares on UPCoM

Vietnam’s major contractor Hoa Binh Construction Group will register its shares on the unlisted public companies market UPCoM as HBC in August.

The company revealed the information after the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Friday announced the mandatory delisting of HBC because as of December 31, 2023, the firm had suffered total losses of VND3,240 billion ($128 million), exceeding its charter capital of VND2,741 billion, according to its 2023 consolidated audited financial statement.

A Hoa Binh representative said that to ensure the trading rights of shareholders, it will move nearly 347.2 million shares from the HoSE to the UPCoM of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

“This will not affect the basic rights and interests of shareholders. During the transition and after the shares are traded on the UPCoM, Hoa Binh pledges to seriously fulfill information disclosure obligations in line with regulations, ensuring transparency and protecting the rights of shareholders and investors,” he said.

In the first half of this year, Hoa Binh achieved revenue of VND3.81 trillion ($150.5 million), a year-on-year increase of 10.1% and after-tax profit of VND741 billion ($29.27 million), as compared to a loss of VND713.2 billion in the same period last year.

The company completed the swap of VND730.8 billion ($28.87 million) of debt into 73.08 million shares for 99 suppliers and subcontractors on June 29, helping to increase its charter capital to over VND3.47 trillion ($137 million). Thus, Hoa Binh fixed the issue of accumulated losses exceeding charter capital.

It said this result largely came from a reduction in business management costs. During the period, Hoa Binh increased customer debt collection and reduced salary payments and related costs thanks to success in restructuring. Other profits rose from selling machinery and equipment abroad.

Regarding its business strategy, the company will continue to promote domestic and foreign market expansion. In the U.S., it started construction on The Grove Apartments project in California in April. In the near future, Hoa Binh will kick off work on two large infrastructure projects in Cambodia.

At Friday’s close, HBC stood at VND7,500 ($0.3) per share.