BIDV to sell 15 pct stake to South Korea’s KEB Hana Bank

BIDV, the second largest listed bank by market cap, will issue 603.3 million new shares at VND33,640 ($1.45), 6 percent below market price as of Tuesday, it said in a statement on the day.

The bank's shareholders approved an increase in charter capital by VND9.5 trillion ($408.6 million) this year from the current VND34.187 trillion ($1.47 billion).

BIDV, in which the government owns a 95.28 percent stake, targets pretax profit of VND10.3 trillion ($443 million) this year, up 9.5 percent from last year and bad debts of below 2 percent.

KEB Hana Bank is a subsidiary of South Korean Hana Financial Group, one of Asia’s largest with operations in 24 countries.

Many of Vietnam’s major banks are seeking to increase charter capital to meet the Basel II capital adequacy norm of 8 percent of risk-weighted assets to cover operational risks by 2020.

Vietcombank, the largest listed bank in the country by market cap, earlier this year sold a 3 percent stake to Japan’s Mizuho Bank and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation to increase its capital to VND37.1 trillion ($1.59 billion). 

The two now own 17.55 percent of the bank, while the state owns 74.8 percent.

Vietinbank, the third largest listed bank, has also been seeking permission from the State Bank of Vietnam to increase its charter capital. 

Japan's Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is Vietinbank's strategic shareholder with a 19.73 percent stake, while the state holds 64.46 percent.