Individual investors scramble to buy Saigonbank shares

June 23, 2016 | 18:00

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Ten individual investors have registered to buy up to 67.5 million shares of Saigonbank, while Vietinbank will divest only nearly 16.9 million shares of Saigonbank.

A Saigonbank transaction office in southern Binh Duong Province. - Photo nganhangonline.com

The registered number is four-fold higher than the total shares that Vietinbank will sell at a public auction to be organised on June 24 this year.

VietinBank, one of Vietnam's biggest lenders, will reduce its stake in the smaller bank — Saigonbank — to 4.91 per cent from 10.39 per cent, currently.

With a starting price of VNĐ10,800 per share, the sale will raise at least VNĐ182.1 billion (US$8.12 million).

The sale of shares is in line with the central bank's existing rules regarding cross ownership, which limit local commercial banks' stake in another lender to less than 5 per cent, according to VietinBank.

One of Việt Nam's smallest lenders by assets, Saigonbank posted VNĐ54.73 billion in pre-tax profit last year, a more than four-fold drop from 2014.

VNS

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