Vietcombank walks back 6.5% stake sale plan

State-controlled Vietcombank has withdrawn a long-awaited plan to issue shares in a private placement ahead of today's extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.

Other proposals would be subject to shareholders’ consideration at the meeting, including additions to the board of directors and the supervisory board.

Vietcombank first unveiled the stake sale plan in 2019, but it has not materialized since. Under this, the Hanoi-based lender intended to sell 307.6 million shares: 46.1 million shares to Japan’s Mizuho Bank, which is already a strategic shareholder with a 15% stake; and 261.4 million shares to other investors.

ACB Securities (ACBS) in early July reported that the deal would be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

Based on a similar deal in 2019, ACBS analysts estimated that the bank would sell the stake at VND96,000-100,000 ($3.98) apiece.

Shares of Vietcombank, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange under ticker VCB, closed on Monday at VND88,800 ($3.54) a unit. At this price, Vietcombank remains the largest company by market cap in Vietnam, at VND496,311 billion ($19.76 billion).

At the bank’s 2023 AGM, the then chairman Pham Quang Dung said the bank was hiring a consultant for the tentative stake sale. Dung tipped that the sale would be carried out in 2023-2024.

At the bank’s 2024 AGM, board member Do Viet Hung said such a plan would depend on market conditions, with roadshows to be held in Vietnam and overseas. The plan was slated for completion next year.

The Hanoi-based lender earned a consolidated net profit of VND16,699 billion ($660.8 million) in the first half of this year, up 1.77% year-on-year. Its total assets stood at VND1,905.64 trillion ($75.4 billion) as of June 30, up 3.6% from end-2023.