DongA Bank delays IPO plan on market drop
DongA Commercial Bank scrapped a plan to sell shares in an initial public offering by the end of this month because of the stock market drop, chief executive officer Tran Phuong Binh said.
“With the plunge in the stock market and no sign of any improvement soon, it is not a good time to list now,” Binh told shareholders at an annual meeting Tuesday in Ho Chi Minh City. “We will wait for a more appropriate time.”
The Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam, the country’s second-biggest lender by assets, and the Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint-Stock Bank have also delayed their IPO plans.
DongA plans to raise its registered capital to VND3.4 trillion (US$194 million) from VND2.88 trillion at the end of 2008 by selling 52 million shares to existing investors before the end of June, Binh said.
The bank’s audited pretax profit jumped 55 percent to VND703 billion in 2008, according to a report released at Tuesday’s meeting. Binh forecast profit will rise again this year, to VND750 billion.
Total assets will increase to VND40 trillion this year from VND34.5 trillion at the end of 2008, he said.
The bank will also delay listing its securities unit until market conditions improve, Binh said. DongA Securities Co. reported a pretax profit of VND1.6 billion last year.
Source: Thanh Nien