Three firms to become major shareholders in PG Bank

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has approved the purchase of shares by three companies that will make them major shareholders in private lender PG Bank.

Petrolimex Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PG Bank) is listed on the Unlisted Public Companies Market (UPCoM) as PGB.

According to the SBV document issued on August 28, Gia Linh Trading Development and Import-Export Company Limited (Gialico) plans to purchase nearly 39.3 million PGB shares, equivalent to 13.099% of voting shares at the bank.

Cuong Phat International Joint Stock Company intends to accept the transfer of more than 40.6 million PGB shares, equivalent to 13.541%; while Vu Anh Duc Trading Joint Stock Company will take on 40 million PGB shares, or 13.359%.

On October 23, PG Bank will hold an extraordinary general shareholder meeting to consolidate the personnel on the board of directors and the supervisory board. The bank will also present plans to increase its charter capital and change its trading name and head office location.

A restructuring plan associated with a bad debt settlement in the 2021-2025 period in accordance with the Prime Minister's direction and the bank's action plan will also be presented at the meeting.

PGBank announced that on August 15, it had fixed its lists of shareholders and shareholder groups exercising the right to nominate and run for candidates to the boards.

Notably, PG Bank has undergone major changes in senior personnel after a large divestment from Petrolimex, Vietnam's biggest gasoline retailer.

In early April, Petrolimex publicly auctioned 120 million PGB shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE). According to the auction results, the shares were purchased by three domestic organizations and one individual. All these legal entities are related to a leading private corporation in the auto assembly industry.

Previously, an over 50% stake in PG Bank had belonged to another multi-industry corporation, TNG Holdings under business couple Nguyen Anh Tuan and Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong.

However, during the July 11 session, 155.7 million shares, equivalent to 51.9% of PG Bank's charter capital, were traded by the put-through method, stirring rumours that the auto assembly group had completed a deal to become a dominant shareholder in the bank.

On April 25, PG Bank held its annual general shareholder meeting 2023 and in early May, it elected Oliver Schwatzhaupt, board member and deputy head of its banking risk management committee, as chairman for the term 2020-2025.

PGB closed the Tuesday session at VND29,800 ($1.24) per share, an increase of 84% from the beginning of the year.

In 2022, PG Bank's pre-tax profit reached VND506 billion ($21.58 million), up 54% year-on-year and exceeding its target by 24%.

As of December 31, 2022, PG Bank's total assets were nearly VND49 trillion ($2.09 billion), up about 21% compared to the end of 2021. Credit increased by 5.6%, while capital mobilization rose by more than 11%.