The Vietnam Industry and Trade Bank (Vietinbank) has expressed its confidence in the upcoming initial public offering (IPO), which will open December 25, despite public’s doubts amid the global financial crisis and investors’ weak sentiment in the stock market.
At the Q&A meeting held Monday, Vietinbank’s Chairman Pham Huy Hung said he believed the IPO would be successful as the banking shares were still proving attractive for investors.
Despite the falling market, the bank still has to conduct its IPO as time scheduled after four years of preparation for the auction, which is aimed to enhance the bank’s management and competitiveness in the global integration, Hung said.
The initial price of VND20,000 in the auction, Hung noted, is appealing as it is just two times higher than its book value, which seems profitable for investors now. JP Morgan, one of the Vietinbank’s consultants in the auction, regarded the price as a reflection of the bank’s potential.
Currently, Sacombank and ACB, the two only banks listed in the local stock market, are traded at VND19,000 and VND29,000, respectively. On the OTC market, Vietcombank, which offered a starting price of VND107,000 in its IPO, is traded at VND31,000.
Vietinbank has so far selected seven big banks from U.S. and Europe, two of them may become foreign strategic investors in the local lender.
The IPO of Vietinbank, traders said, will become the biggest one of this year as it is the second state-owned lender going to public after the giant Vietcombank conducted its first share sale last December. (Business Forum, VNS)
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