State-owned Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro), the owner of several golden land plots in the capital, will conduct its IPO on March 30, according to information published by the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

Hapro's IPO draws attention due to its valuable land plots in the capital

Accordingly, the corporation will put 75.93 million shares or 34.51 per cent of its charter capital on sale with the initial price of VND12,800 ($0.56) via an auction.

Hapro expects to acquire at least VND971 billion ($42.78 million) from the IPO.

According to the approved equitisation plan, Hapro currently has a charter capital of VND2.2 trillion ($96.94 million), equaling 200 million shares. Along with the share volume put on sale at the IPO, Hapro will offer 143 million shares, equaling a 65 per cent stake, for strategic investors. The remaining 0.49 per cent will be handed to employees.

Hapro is on Hanoi’s 2016-2020 equitisation schedule. The divestment has already attracted attention due to the company owning a number of golden land plots in the capital.

Notably, it is the operator of a supermarket and convenience store chain and it also holds controlling interest in numerous subsidiaries which also hold plenty of huge real estate.

One of the attractive pieces of property owned by Hapro is a nine-story shopping mall and office building in Le Duan Street. The construction covers an area of 1,624sq.m, however, it has been delayed for months due to financial obstacles and failing to get approval from local authorities to increase the building’s height beyond what was previously approved. Another real estate project is in Cat Linh Street, which currently serves as Hapro’s headquarters.

In addition, a range of Hapro subsidiaries hold further valuable land parcels, like Hapro Holdings, which owns eight real estate projects in Vietnam, or Long Bien Trade Investment JSC with its 11 office buildings, and Trang Thi Trade & Service Company with 42 land plots for leasing.

In 2017, Hapro earned VND1.92 trillion ($84.6 million) in net revenue and VND11 billion in pre-tax profit, signifying decreases of 17 per cent in net revenue and one-sixth in pre-tax profit compared to 2016.

VIR