BIC to sell 35 per cent to foreign investors

April 18, 2015 | 15:00

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The Bank for Investment and Development’s Vietnam Insurance Company (BIC) has plans to issue 41 million shares (a 35 per cent stake) to strategic foreign investors, according to the report released before the shareholders’ meeting on April 20.

Upon the transaction, BIC’s chartered capital will reach over VND1 trillion ($46.3 million) and BIDV’s stake will decrease to from 78.4 to 51 per cent.

The current 35 per cent rate is considered the ceiling, otherwise BIDV’s stake would fall under 51 per cent. Earlier, in the 2014 shareholders’ meeting, BIC’s shareholders approved a plan to sell a maximum of 30 per cent.

In the first quarter of 2015, BIC reaped VND44.3 billion ($2.05 million) in pre-tax profits, 30 per cent more compared to the same period of 2010 and equal to 30 per cent of the 2015 plan.

Opening three subsidiaries in foreign markets has greatly increased BIC’s pre-tax profits. In the first three months of 2015, the pre-tax profit of Lao-Viet Insurance Joint Venture Company, the second biggest non-life insurance firm in Laos, has hit VND10 billion ($0.46 million), an increase of 38 per cent compared to the same period last year. Similarly, the pre-tax profit of Cambodia-Viet Insurance Joint Venture Company rose 66 per cent on year.

In March, BIC opened a representative office in Myanmar, located in Yangon city, which is considered a bridge to help BIC and other Vietnamese companies approach Myanmar’s insurance market.

By By Kim Oanh

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