Deposed chief cuts stake in construction giant Coteccons

They are now at 4.2 percent, he said Friday in a submission to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange where Coteccons’ CTD shares are listed.

In Vietnam, anyone owning 5 percent shares of a company or more has to inform the exchange when buying or selling stakes.

The value of the deal is estimated at VND73 billion ($3.2 million). CTD has fallen 22 percent since early September to VND61,400 ($2.66) now.

Coteccons announced on Monday the resignation of Duong after 17 years of building the company into one of Vietnam’s largest builders with revenues of over $1 billion in each of the last three years.

His resignation followed a running saga of conflicts since 2017 between Coteccons and Singapore-based construction firm Kustocem, which owns an 18.23 percent stake in the company.

Coteccons had accused the Singaporean firm of launching a hostile takeover bid.

But after Coteccons announced the resignation of two board members on June 22, Kustocem representatives publicly thanked Duong for acting in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, while he said geographical distance, cultural differences and differences in views between major shareholders and the Coteccons board were the main causes of the recent "fuss."

The six-member board now has only one person from Duong’s time.

With the conflicts resolved, stock brokerages expect CTD prices to rise in the next three years thanks to its strong financial capabilities and no debts.