Billions of shares pending for HoSE listing

A Vietnam Rubber Group JSC farm. The group has filed for listing four billion shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).- Photo vietnamfinance.vn

Maritime Joint Stock Commercial Bank (MSB) on November 19 filed to list 1.175 billion shares on HoSE, equal to charter capital of VND11.75 trillion (US$506.63 million).

If approved, the bank will become the 11th bank listed on HoSE and the 20th on the Vietnamese stock market.

The plan has been in place since 2016 after MSB acquired Mekong Bank and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Finance JSC.

As of the end of September, the bank had VND148.3 trillion worth of total assets, up 8 per cent over nine months. Total lending rose 19 per cent in the nine-month period to VND57.8 trillion, and the NPL ratio fell to 2.87 per cent from 3.00 per cent.

From January-September, MSB earned VND2 trillion in total net revenue and VND868 billion in post-tax profit. The figures were up 28 per cent and 350 per cent from last year.

MSB shares are currently traded on the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market. Its shares traded at VND10,500-10,600 ($0.45-0.46) on Tuesday.

Previously, MSB shareholders had failed to offload their stakes. Those included the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the Vietnam Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC).

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Rubber Group – JSC (VRG) will become the third State-owned group to trade shares on HoSE after the National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and insurance-finance firm Bao Viet Holdings.

VRG plans to move four billion shares from the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) to HoSE. The company has filed its listing to the southern bourse regulator for approval.

VRG shares (UPCoM: GVR) ended Tuesday at VND13,800 per share.

The State in early 2018 cut its holding to 96.77 per cent in the firm’s charter capital from 100 per cent.

VRG debuted on UPCoM in March 2018, becoming the largest firm in terms of charter capital. It has VND76 trillion worth of total assets.

After three quarters, the group recorded VND12.95 trillion worth of total net revenue and VND2.3 trillion in post-tax profit.

Other companies that are switching to HoSE include Duc Giang Chemicals Group, Investment and Industrial Development Joint Stock Corporation (Becamex IDC), and Military Insurance Corporation.

Market volatility

Businesses have delayed HoSE-listing plans in 2019 because market conditions have been quite rough.

The benchmark VN-Index on HoSE gained total 11.5 per cent to close Tuesday at 979.03 points year-to-date.

Between January 3 and February 25, the VN-Index rose 13.2 per cent.

But the benchmark has moved in a wide range between 943 points and 1,000 points ever since.

Large-cap companies have been the driving factor for market growth, with the large-cap VN30-Index moving in the same direction as the VN-Index.

The VN30-Index gained 7 per cent between January 3 and February 25 and 12 per cent year-to-date.

Meanwhile, the mid-cap VNMID-Index and small-cap VNSML-Index have declined gradually since early March 2019.

The Vietnamese stock market has been pressurised by negative developments of international markets such as the US-China trade war, the protest crisis in Hong Kong and concerns about the global economic recession.