LARGE BANKS STEP UP FOREIGN CAPITAL ATTRACTION

Experts forecast that this year, banks will race to increase their charter capital in order to improve capital adequacy ratios and meet the capital needs for high credit growth.

Techcombank is expected to sell 10-15 per cent of its shares to long-term strategic investors, with priority given to partners with technological capabilities. — Photo cafef.vn

HÀ NỘI — Large banks such as Techcombank, Vietcombank and BIDV are set to promote their capital sale plans to attract foreign strategic investors this year.

Techcombank is expected to sell 10-15 per cent of its shares to long-term strategic investors, with priority given to partners with technological capabilities. Currently, the foreign ownership ratio at Techcombank is 22 per cent.

At Vietcombank, Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, chairman of the bank’s board of directors, confirmed at the bank’s shareholder meeting last year that a plan to issue individual shares to increase capital is still underway in order to realise the bank’s strategic goals, as well as meet increasingly strict international standards.

Specifically, Vietcombank’s selection of financial consultants was completed in January 2024. After that, the bank organised many events to meet investors in Singapore, the UK and Hong Kong (China).

Tùng said Vietcombank is still working closely with international consultants to realise this plan. The bank expects to be able to complete the private issuance plan in the first half of 2025 if the market develops favourably.

For BIDV, after the State Bank of Vietnam approved an increase in charter capital according to the private share issuance plan, the bank will offer 123.8 million private shares to professional investors in the first quarter of 2025 at VNĐ38,800 per share. With more than VNĐ4.8 trillion expected to be earned from this issuance, the bank's charter capital is forecast to exceed VNĐ70.2 trillion.

Four foreign investors and one domestic investor are expected to buy up BIDV’s shares. Of these, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL) has registered to buy nearly 59 million shares, accounting for 47.7 per cent of the total offering. Other investors, including Hanoi Investments Holdings Limited, DC Developing Markets Strategies Public Limited Company and Samsung Vietnam Securities Master Investment Trust (SSMIT), registered to buy 15.7 million shares, 8.5 million shares and more than 1.9 million shares, respectively.

The domestic investor State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) has registered to buy 38.7 million shares of BIDV.

In addition to the above deal, a plan to privately issue 9 per cent of BIDV’s shares to strategic investors is also expected to be completed this year.

At a recent investor conference, BIDV leaders said that the bank is working with potential investors to carry out its first private issuance with a rate of 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. The remaining 6.1 per cent will be implemented later, depending on market conditions.

Experts forecast that this year, banks will race to increase their charter capital in order to improve capital adequacy ratios and meet the capital needs for high credit growth, as the Government has set an economic growth target of at least 8 per cent.

Trần Kiều Oanh of financial service provider FiinGroup’s Market Research and Consulting Services Division said the capital increase race will likely help banks ensure sustainable operations amid increasing bad debt ratios and decreasing bad debt coverage ratios in the entire banking system.

Oanh added that increasing capital will also create a foundation for business expansion in strategic areas. — VNS

Source: VNS