Investor buys 52% stake in Kim Lien Tourism

Kim Lien Tourism JSC is the owner of the 55-year-old historic Kim Lien Hotel, which has a prime location at the centre of Ha Noi.- Photo bizlive.vn

The shares were bought from the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) at an auction held on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange this morning.

Thirty-six investors, including 19 institutions and 17 individuals, registered to buy a total 131.1 million shares, which was 36 times more than the offered number.

These shares were sold to the highest bidding price of VND274,200 ($12.19) each, a nine-fold increase over the starting price of VND30,600 ($1.36).

Details about the investor who bought the shares have not yet been disclosed.

The state-owned Kim Lien Tourism Company primarily operates in the field of restaurant and catering services. It has a charter capital of nearly VND69.6 billion ($3.1 million).

Apart from the SCIC, the other three institutions that hold nearly 40 per cent of the company's charter capital are GPBank with a 21.6-per-cent stake, Post and Telecommunication Finance Co Ltd with a 6.7-per-cent stake and GP Invest Joint Stock Company with a 6.6-per-cent stake.

The success of the auction has been attributed to a high percentage of stockholdings that is sold as one lot, which will allow the investor to have a controlling stake in the company.

Kim Lien Tourism JSC is the owner of the 55-year-old historic Kim Lien Hotel, which has a prime location at the centre of Ha Noi. Last year, the firm earned VND127 billion ($5.6 million) in revenue and VND13.5 billion ($600,000) in after-tax profits.

Before the auction, many large enterprises expressed their interest in these stakes, including the state-owned Ha Noi Tourist Corporation, Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation, ThaiGroup and Mien Trung Construction Corporation, all of which have more than VND2 trillion (nearly $89 million) in charter capital.