Central bank okays Vietcombank hiking charter capital to $2.4 bln

Vietnam's central bank has allowed the state-controlled Vietcombank to raise its charter capital from VND47.33 trillion to VND55.89 trillion ($2.38 billion).

To process the move, the lender, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as VCB, will issue nearly 856.6 million shares to pay dividends at the ratio of 18.1% (a shareholder holding 1,000 shares will receive 181 shares).

With the move, Vietcombank will surpass VietinBank and BIDV, two other “Big 4” banks, to become the second-largest bank in terms of charter capital, after VPBank.

In November 2022, VPBank topped Vietnam's banking system in terms of charter capital after expanding it by 50% to VND67.43 trillion ($2.83 billion). This puts it far ahead of state-owned banks who had hitherto held the top slots.

BIDV's chartered capital is VND50.59 trillion ($2.12 billion), while the figures for VietinBank, Vietcombank, and Agribank are VND48.06 trillion, VND47.33 trillion, and VND34.35 trillion, respectively.

Vietcombank achieved after-tax profit of VND8.99 trillion ($383 million) in Q1, up 13% year-on-year.

VCB shares dipped 0.53% to VND94,000 ($4) each at the close on Wednesday.