IFC offloads 1.5 pct stake in VietinBank

The transaction was completed last Wednesday, bringing the stake owned by IFC in VietinBank down from roughly 8.02 percent to 6.49 percent, according to a disclosure filing with the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), Vietnam’s main bourse.

The disclosure said that the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, had sold over 18 million VietinBank shares (CTG), while the IFC Capitalization (Equity) Fund, a fund owned by the IFC, has sold over 39 million.

The total value of these transactions came to around VND1.23 trillion ($52.98 million), equivalent to around VND21,500 ($0.93) per share, as recorded on HoSE.

The IFC has not provided an explanation of its sale. It had first invested in the bank in 2011.

Currently, the State Bank of Vietnam is the biggest shareholder in VietinBank with a 64.46 percent stake. Japan’s MUFG Bank is next with 19.73 percent ownership, followed by IFC, now with 6.49 percent. The rest are held by other shareholders.

In the first nine months of the year, VietinBank's profit after tax reached VND6.83 trillion ($294.14 million), up 11.4 percent over the same period last year, according to its financial statement.

As of September 30, VietinBank’s total assets were valued at more than VND1.2 quadrillion ($51.69 billion), a year-on-year increase of 3.2 percent, making it the second biggest bank by assets in Vietnam.

By the end of Wednesday’s session, CTG shares closed at VND21,500 ($0.93), unchanged from its opening price in the morning.