Government plans to slash stake in Vietnam Airlines to 51 percent

The carrier’s shares were listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange Tuesday after moving from UPCoM, or the Unlisted Public Company Market. It closed the session with a market capitalization of VND57 trillion ($2.45 billion).

Nguyen Hoang Anh, chairman of the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC), told VnExpress the move to HoSE would facilitate the government’s divestment from the airline and help attract large investors.

The CMSC has instructed Vietnam Airlines to draw up a divestment roadmap for 2019-20 enabling the state to sell 35.19 percent out of its current 86.19 percent stake, he added.

Without elaborating, Vietnam Airlines chairman Pham Ngoc Minh said plans have been completed and sent to competent authorities for approval. The carrier is also planning to make private placements to large investors.

It has a strategic partnership with ANA Holdings, a Japanese aviation corporation which holds an 8.77 percent stake in it, for services with the aim of becoming a five-star airline.

Minh said the company is looking for other similar investors for other areas of expertise.

In the first quarter of this year Vietnam Airlines reported nearly VND26 trillion ($1.12 billion) in consolidated revenues, up 4.7 percent from the same period last year, and consolidated pre-tax profits of nearly VND1.58 trillion, up 10.5 percent.

It has said in its latest financial report that it plans to buy 50 narrow-body aircraft between 2021 and 2025 and seek shareholders’ approval to sell five A321 CEOs produced in 2004 and 2005.

It plans to renew its fleet, replacing aircraft that are more than 12 years old.