VietNamNet Bridge - While institutional shareholders register to divest shares of listed banks, inside shareholders and relatives of the members of the board of management are rushing to collect shares.

After VietinBank divested 16.9 million Saigonbank shares in June 2016, Vietcombank offered to sell 13.2 million Saigonbank shares, or 4.3 percent, at the starting price of VND12,550 per share. 

Vietcombank said it plans to sell 5.07 percent of Orient Bank and 8.19 percent of Eximbank shares in order to clear cross-ownership status.

Foreign strategic shareholders have also gradually withdrawn capital from Vietnam banks. HSBC last August withdrew all of its capital from Techcombank after 12 months of investment, though the selling price was unsatisfactory, which made it incur the loss of VND440 billion.

ACB’s foreign shareholders are also leaving the bank. Standard Chartered APR Limited registered to sell 600,000 shares in July, while Connaught Investors Limited on October 17 transferred 74 million shares, or 7.26 percent, to two funds First Burns Investments Limited and Asia Reach Investment Limited.

The former received 41 million ACB shares (4 percent), while the latter 33.5 million (3.26 percent).

To ease pressure on the share price following the share sale by big institutional shareholders, banks registered to buy treasury stocks. Techcombank, for example, has bought shares equal to the amount sold by HSBC.

VIB Bank on October 23 was allowed to buy 57 million treasury stocks, or 10.1 percent of chartered capital. The bank recently completed the deal of receiving the retail division from Commonwealth, which is a strategic shareholder, holding 20 percent VIB stake.

After the HSBC divestment, Techcombank has reduced the foreign ownership ratio ceiling to zero percent, while VP Bank cit it from to 22.378 percent from 25 percent. LienVietPost Bank reduced the ceiling to 5 percent.

While institutional shareholders rush to sell shares, inside individual shareholders and relatives of the members of the board of management rush to buy in.

The wife of VP Bank’s CEO in August registered to buy 10 million VP Bank shares, or 0.67 percent. Prior to that, Do Chi Dung, president of VP Bank, registered to buy 10.5 million, while his mother and wife bought 66.6 million and 65 million, respectively.

The relatives of Lo Bang Giang, vice president of VP Bank in July and August spent big money to acquire 110 million shares of the bank.

As for VIB Bank, the wife of president Dang Khac Vy has bought 27.9 million shares to acquire 4.95 percent of the bank’s capital.

At LienVietPost Bank, the wife of president Nguyen Duc Huong, successfully bought 1 million shares on October 5, the first day when the bank shares were put into transactions on UpCom.

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