PYN Elite raises holding in Hanoi-based TPBank, IFC quits

Finland-domiciled PYN Elite Fund has increased its holdings in Hanoi-based TPBank to 104.1 million shares, or a 4.73% stake, as the former is upbeat about Vietnamese bank stocks.

The ratio rose from 3.59% as of August 30, TPBank (HoSE: TPB), among the medium-sized banks in Vietnam, said in its updates on shareholders.

In an investor letter last month, PYN Elite said its bank stocks made up 50% of its portfolio. As of end-August, out of the fund’s 10 largest holdings, six were banks: Sacombank, MBBank, TPBank, HDBank, VietinBank, and OCBank.

The fund said that when comparing Vietnam’s 10 largest banks with the 10 largest tech companies in the U.S., the result is “astonishing”: for the period 2019–2025, the earnings growth of Vietnamese banks is slightly better than that of U.S. tech companies.

In September, its bank portfolio helped the fund record returns of 3.37%, outperforming a mere 0.3% increase of the benchmark VN-Index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

TPBank said in an announcement on October 9 that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had cut its ownership in the bank to zero from the earlier 1.17% or 25.8 million shares.

According to TPBank, IFC, the World Bank's private investment arm, had been a key shareholder in the bank since 2016, when the IFC acquired a 4.99% stake for VND403 billion ($16.22 million at the current exchange rate).

In Vietnam, the IFC has invested in several Vietnamese banks such as ABBank and VietinBank, and insurer PVI Holding, in addition to providing loans to several local banks.

With the latest changes, TPBank now has 21 stakeholders owning more than 1% of the bank, including 12 institutions and nine individuals.

Tech company FPT remains the largest institutional investor with a 6.77% stake. The next significant shareholders are Doji Corp, PYN Elite, SBI Ven Holdings Pte. Ltd (4.51%), Hai Phong Invest JSC (3.08%), and Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (2.64%).

Other large individual shareholders include Nguyen Ha Long (3.82%), Do Anh Tu (3.71%), Le Quang Tien (3.61%), Do Minh Quan (3.34%), and Do Quynh Anh (3.07%). Tien and Tu are the bank’s vice chairmen.