Thanh Cong Group to divest entirely from Eximbank

Vietnamese multi-sector corporation Thanh Cong Group has registered to sell all of its 60.54 million shares in Eximbank or a 4.93% stake by agreement.

The selling registration timeline runs from October 7 to October 31, according to a company announcement on stock transactions related to insiders.

At the same time, Thanh Cong Joint Stock Cooperative registered to sell more than 44.7 million shares, while Phuc Thinh JSC registered to sell all of more than 12.3 million shares in Eximbank.

Both companies are associated with Thanh Cong Group board member Le Hong Anh. The total volume these shareholders want to sell exceeds 117.6 million shares, equivalent to nearly 9.57% of the total outstanding shares.

Eximbank reported after-tax profits of VND1,519 billion ($65 million) in the first six months of the year, 2.4 times year-on-year. This was the first time since 2013 that the bank, one of the first joint stock commercial banks in the country, had generated H1 profits of trillions of Vietnamese dong (VND1 trillion = $42.84 million).

The bank's net interest income in H1 reached VND2,662 billion ($114 million), a 48% rise year-on-year, according to its financial report.

Eximbank plans to issue an additional 245.8 million shares to raise its chartered capital to VND14,810 billion ($634.5 million). This is the first time in 10 years the bank will expand its chartered capital.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), which holds a 15% stake in Eximbank, recently terminated its strategic partnership with the Vietnamese bank ahead of time, after 14 years of cooperation.

But the Japanese institution has not yet withdrawn its capital and remains a major shareholder in Eximbank, chairwoman Luong Thi Cam Tu told the bank's annual general meeting in late May.