Vietnam Airlines to go public by late 2014

February 13, 2014 | 08:50

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Vietnam Airlines Corporation, which operates the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, is preparing to hold an IPO in the second quarter and hopes to completely go private by the end of this year, its chairman has revealed.

VNA has completed necessary procedures for the IPO (initial public offering) plan, but still has to meet some more requirements by the state audit agency, Pham Viet Thanh said in an interview with Tuoi Tre.

The IPO is expected to be launched no later than the end of the second quarter of this year, Thanh asserted.

VNA planned to raise US$200 million by selling 383 million shares in the IPO, but the chairman noted these figures are only estimates.

VNA has to wait for the government approval on its corporate value to publicize the final figures.

“Under the normal progress, the privatization of VNA will be completed by December 31,” he said.

Under a policy approved by the government, in the first phase after the IPO, the government will hold 70 to 75 percent stake of VNA. The remaining shares are available for strategic investors and the public.

Whether the government will reduce its shares in VNA depends on how the situation develops following the initial public offering.

While VNA will welcome all kinds of businesses to be its strategic investors, the company prefers shareholders that are airlines with suitable air service networks and technologies, which will help increase its competitiveness after the IPO.

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