Major Japanese shareholder divests from Eximbank

Foreign investors sold 134 million Eximbank (EIB) shares on Friday, equivalent to 10.8% of the bank's charter capital, for VND3,421 billion ($146 million).

The transactions were made between Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the bank's major shareholder, and domestic investors, according to The Investor's finding.

Most of the shares were traded for VND25,500 ($1.09) per unit.

At the end of December 2022, the bank recorded heavy trading, with 123.5 million shares changing hands on December 22, 81.2 million on December 21, and 49.2 million shares on December 28.

With foreign ownership in Eximbank currently at 18.95%, its likely that SMBC, a strategic shareholder holding 15%, sold off last week.

SMBC became a strategic shareholder in Eximbank in 2007, with 15% worth $225 million. However, the "war of kings" that has occurred between Eximbank's shareholder groups for more than a decade has derailed SMBC's plans.

After many petitions to purge members of the bank's board of directors and unsuccessfully organizing an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, SMBC decided to withdraw capital from the bank.

At the end of 2019, while embarking on negotiations with VPBank Finance Company Limited (FE Credit), SMBC withdrew its representative from Eximbank's board.

From December 9, 2019, Yasuhiro Saitoh was no longer the authorized representative of SMBC at Eximbank. In the unsuccessful annual shareholder meeting on April 27, 2021, SMBC did not send a representative to attend.

On March 18, 2022, the Japanese financial institution officially announced in writing the termination of its strategic alliance agreement with Eximbank. In September, the representative of SMBC in Eximbank, Vo Quang Hien, left as a member of its board of directors.

With this move, SMBC's transactions of EIB shares no longer needed to be registered in advance, as in the case of related persons.

SMBC's divestment from Eximbank was made just a few days before a deadline set by the State Bank of Vietnam. Previously, on October 18, 2022, the central bank issued a document "approving the sale and transfer of all EIB shares owned by SMBC in Eximbank", valid for three months from the date of signing.

On January 16, 2023, Eximbank will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to elect additional board members for the 2020-2025 term.

In early December, Eximbank forecast pre-tax profits of VND3.5 trillion ($146 million) for 2022, and set a pre-tax profit target of VND5 trillion ($208 million) for 2023, up 42.9% year-on-year.

The bank's total assets by the end of 2023 are expected to reach about VND210 trillion ($8.76 billion), up 14% compared to the end of 2022, of which its credit balance will reach VND146.6 trillion ($6.11 billion), up 14%.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Eximbank (EIB) closed Friday’s session at VND25,750 ($1.1).