VOF invests $46.3 mln in ACB stock

By Dat Nguyen November 24, 2020 | 02:10 am PT

An employee counts Vietnamese banknotes at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund has poured $46.3 million into acquiring shares of the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), which has seen a surge in profits.

Of the $944.9 million net asset value of VOF at the end of last month, 4.9 percent was poured into ACB, making the bank the fifth largest investee company in the fund’s portfolio.

ACB, the sixth largest bank in terms of market cap, is undergoing significant digital transformation, and saw its third quarter net profit rise 34 percent year-on-year to $90 million, VOF said in a statement.

The rise was driven by solid credit growth, a strong net-interest margin recovery, improved trading gains and a continual decline in operating expenses, it added.

The bank has also recently signed an exclusive agreement with one of the world’s largest life insurance companies, Sun Life Financial, which could increase its future earnings, it added.

The ACB has recently received approval to transfer its listing from the Hanoi Stock Exchange to the country’s main bourse, Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

VOF expects the transfer to happen next month or in January. The upcoming listing of ACB and several other banks will increase the banking sector’s ratio in the VN-Index from 26 percent to over 28 percent.

The fund also said its biggest investee last month was steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, accounting for 15.7 percent of its net asset value, followed by real estate firm Khang Dien House, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam and Phu Nhuan Jewelry.