The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) cannot make initial public offering (IPO) prior to August 30 as schemed as the bank has not got permission from the government, a state media said Monday.
Vietcombank deputy general director Nguyen Thu Ha said on August 24 that her bank has sent the detailed IPO scheme to the government, but not received any instruction yet.
“We will not be able to make IPO within August,” Ha said.
In February, after signing a contract with Credit Suisse on equitization consultancy, Vietcombank confidently announced that it would make IPO at the end of July or August at the latest and list on the bourse in the end of October.
Last year and earlier this year, the government many times urged state-owned banks to speed up the equitization process. However, there has been no such urge since June amidst warnings of oversupply of shares on the stock market causing losses to the state, when the market began falling down.
Owing to the warnings, banks themselves have been hesitating to put shares for sale. The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), a volunteer for equitization, has also asked the government to reconsider the timing of the IPOs of big state owned enterprises.
As planned, BIDV would complete its equitization plan to be submitted to the government before the IPO is made at the end of the fourth quarter of this year.
The Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank (ICB) is also considering the re-timing of its IPO although it has finished selecting equitization advisor.
ICB general director Pham Huy Hung said that the bank "would do what the government instructed".
Ha from Vietcombank said her bank cannot make IPO right in August, but it would make the IPO as previously planned if the government approved.
“The market now is not as favorable as previously, but we do not plan to delay IPO and the equitization plan because of this. No one can know for sure how the market will perform later,” said Ha.
In a report released on early August on Vietnam’s financial situation, HSBC said there was no need to worry about the IPOs of big banks as the sale of good commodities would help stimulate the market demand and attract new foreign investors. (VNE)
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