SMBC to earn $48.6 mln dividend from VPBank weeks after becoming strategic investor

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second-largest bank in Japan by total assets, will receive a VND1.19 trillion ($48.6 million) dividend from privately-run VPBank just weeks after becoming a strategic investor.

In a recent announcement, VPBank, the largest bank in Vietnam by charter capital, said it will pay a cash dividend of VND1,000 ($0.04) per share on record as of November 10 and will make the payment on November 20.

SMBC, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG), acquired a 15% stake worth $1.5 billion of the Vietnamese bank, listed on the local stock exchange as VPB, earlier this year and officially became a major shareholder of the latter from October 30.

With 7.93 billion outstanding shares, VPBank will spend VND7.93 trillion ($323.7 million) on the dividend payment. It is the bank’s first cash dividend in over 10 years.

The bank reported consolidated after-tax profit of VND8.02 trillion ($327.4 million) in the first quarter this year, down 49.6% year-on-year. Its total assets had reached VND780.2 trillion ($31.84 billion) as of September 30, up 23.64% from end-2022.

VPBank shares closed up 5.05% at VND20,800 ($0.85) on Monday with 9.58 million units traded.