Vietnam’s largest shipping firm to go public in September

Vietnam’s largest shipping firm and port operator has been given the go-ahead by the Prime Minister to hold its initial public offering (IPO) later this year.

The equitization plan of State-owned Vinalines, or Vietnam National Shipping Lines, is a combination of divestment and share issuance.

Nguyen Canh Tinh, acting general director of Vinalines, said the company will auction more than 280 million shares, equal to 20 percent of its total chartered capital of VND14.04 trillion ($616.6 million), on the Hanoi Stock Exchange in September. The shares will carry the code VLG.

Around 207 million shares, or 14 percent of the capital after equitization, will be offered to strategic investors, and another 2 percent stake earmarked for employees and the trade union as preferred shares.

The State will retain a 65 percent stake in the company, equal to nearly 913 million shares.

Vinalines has been in talks with several investment funds, and some multinational companies and shipping firms from Japan, Thailand and South Korea about the share sale. South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor has expressed its interest in buying Vinalines shares.

Vinalines, under the management of the Ministry of Transport, engages in shipping, port management and maritime service, and logistics activities in Vietnam and international markets.

It posted a consolidated revenue of VND16 trillion in 2017, beating its annual target by 15 percent, resulting in a net profit of VND515 billion. Of that revenue, over VND4.4 trillion came from port services and VND7.1 trillion from transport services.

Its assets were valued at more than VND18 trillion last year.