Petrolimex offloads government stake worth $178 mln to Japanese partner

By Toan Dao   June 14, 2016 | 03:59 am PT
Vietnam’s leading oil importer and retailer Petrolimex has finalized the sale of an eight percent stake to Japan's JX Nippon & Energy for VND4.04 trillion ($178.3 million).

The Japanese firm became an official stakeholder in Petrolimex on May 28, the latter said in a draft report that is to be presented at its annual shareholders' meeting on June 23.

The Vietnamese government, through the Ministry of Industry and Trade, currently owns about a 95 percent stake in Petrolimex, with the rest held by the public and the company's labor unions. The company plans to continue selling shares to strategic partners until the government's stake is less than 75 percent as part of its restructuring efforts.

Petrolimex said earlier this year that part of the funding from the sales will be used to finance its trading unit in Singapore, which is incurring losses.

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A Petrolimex gas station. Photo by Petrolimex.

The two companies have been negotiating the deal for the past two years. Petrolimex had initially wanted to sell a 20 percent stake to the Japanese company, but a deal for eight percent has been finally agreed.

JX Nippon & Energy signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2014 to become a strategic partner of Petrolimex. The two companies plan to set up a joint venture to invest in the proposed Nam Van Phong Refinery in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Related news:

> Petrolimex to sell 8 pct stake to Japanese JX Nippon & Energy

 
 
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