International Finance Corporation (IFC) for 190 million USD. The deal
makes Vietinbank the first partly equitised State-owned bank to become
part-owned by a foreign strategic investor. It made its initial public
offering 22 months ago.
The price was set by the Government, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam.
IFC will support Vietinbank with technologies, international business development and management.
Vietnam's largest partly-private lender announced on Oct. 10 its total
assets at the end of August had risen nearly 30 percent from the end of
2009 to 320 trillion VND (16.41 billion USD).
In
the first eight months of this year, the Hanoi-based lender raised more
than 290 trillion VND in deposits and lent 199.5 trillion VND. Its bad
debt stood at 1.05 percent of all loans, below an annual target of 2.5
percent for 2010.
The bank plans to pay a dividend
of 20 percent of its shares' face value of 10,000 VND for 2010, higher
than its initial target of around 15 percent, the statement said,
without giving profit figures for the eight-month period.
Vietinbank expects to increase its charter capital to 23 trillion VND
(1.18 billion USD) by the end of the year, and the figure is slated to
reach 35 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) next year.
"By helping Vietinbank build up its capacity and strengthen its products
and services, IFC will assist the bank in reaching more small – and
medium-sized enterprises through its nationwide network," said Simon
Andrews, IFC regional manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
"The proposed engagement will help Vietinbank
further develop as a leading SME and underlines IFC's support for the
Government's equitisation programme in the financial and banking
sectors."
The Hanoi-based bank also plans to sell a
stake of 15 percent to Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia to raise its
registered capital by 35 percent to 15.1 trillion VND. The deal is
expected to be finalised in December.
Shares of Vietinbank (coded CTG on the HCM Stock Exchange) closed at 18,700 VND per share on Oct.8.
Vietinbank went public in December 2007, becoming the first State-owned bank to do so.
However, it has struggled to find a foreign strategic investor./.
