Vietnam's govt plans 21.79 pct share sale of Vinaconex on Dec.8

Vietnam's State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) on Thursday said it plans to sell 21.79 pct of Vinaconex , one of Vietnam's leading construction firms, on December 8.

Vinaconex has interests in real estate, construction, trade and industrial manufacturing. Its sale is part of Vietnam's broader privatization program where the government divests out of hundreds of state-owned enterprises to increase the state income and to boost the companies' performances.

The government's 21.79 percent stake in Vinaconex, formally known as Viet Nam Construction and Import Export Joint Stock Corp, is worth $105 million and a successful sale would reduce the state ownership to 36 percent, enough to retain veto rights.

A starting price will be announced between Nov. 28 and Dec. 7, SCIC said in a handout to investors.

Other existing investors in Vinaconex include military-run telecommunications firm Viettel Group with a 21.28-percent ownership and Van Eck Associates Corporation which owns 4.45 percent, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Vinaconex's January-September net profit jumped 31 percent from the same period last year to 622.9 billion dong ($27.4 million), its un-audited financial statements showed.

The company's net profit in 2016 rose 31 percent to 687.2 billion dong.

Vinaconex shares on Thursday rose as much as 3.23 pct to 26,500 dong, their highest since December 2010.

($1 = 22,709 dong)