Leading contractor Hoa Binh fined for slow information disclosure

Vietnam's top contractor Hoa Binh Construction Corporation (HBC) has been fined VND190 million ($7,470) for slow information disclosure and acquisition of properties without approval from an AGM or its board of directors.

Specifically, the company, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as HBC, received a fine of VND65 million ($2,550) for failing to disclose many documents on time in line with regulations on the information system of the State Securities Commission (SSC) and the website of the HoSE, per a decision issued by the SSC on Monday.

The documents include the audited separate and consolidated financial statements for 2022; 2022 annual report; notices of board member changes; explanation of the difference in business results before and after the review for the reviewed 2022 separate and consolidated semi-annual financial statements; and separate and consolidated financial statements for Q4/2022.

HBC was also fined VND125 million ($4,913) for signing a land use rights transfer contract on March 31, 2020 with its chairman Le Viet Hai in order to acquire his own properties worth VND120 billion ($4.72 million) without approval by an annual general meeting (AGM) or its board of directors.

In the first quarter of 2024, HBC recorded revenue of nearly VND1,651 billion ($64.9 million), an increase of 38.2% year-on-year; and an after-tax profit of VND56.6 billion ($2.22 million), as compared to a loss of VND445 billion in the same period last year.

As of March 31, 2024, the company had recorded an accumulated loss of VND3,183 billion ($125 million), resulting in its equity of only VND149 billion ($5.86 million).

The firm expects to earn VND433 billion ($17 million) in after-tax profit this year, 3.5 times higher than the 2023 target.

If the plan is realized, Hoa Binh will regain a profit level it enjoyed in pre-pandemic 2019. However, the figure would still be far short of the peak recorded in 2016-2018.

In the stock market, HBC closed Thursday at VND7,850 ($0.31) per share.