In a move to attract new investment capital, the Viglacera Corporation will change its listing from the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on December 22 and trade under the code VGC.

With a par value of VND10,000 ($0.44) per share, its more than 65 million shares will be valued at VND650 billion ($28.56 million). The starting price will be VND15,600 ($0.69) on the first day of trade on HNX.

Last July the Ministry of Construction (MoC), which holds 91.49 per cent of Viglacera, auctioned 11.34 per cent of its shares for VND418 billion ($19 million).

The divestment attracted much attention from foreign investors, who purchased 15.5 million shares out of the total of 30 million floated on July 28, according to HNX. The average bid price was VND13,923 ($0.63) against an initial price of VND11,700 ($0.53).

As of now, the State, via MoC, remains a majority shareholder in Viglacera, with 78.82 per cent, while foreign shareholders have 9.16 per cent and domestic shareholders 12.02 per cent. Its charter capital is registered at VND3.07 trillion ($134.9 million).

On December 13 Viglacera’s shares closed at VND15,900 ($0.7), up VND5,300 ($0.23) since being first traded on UPCoM.

With 42 years in business, Viglacera operates in two major sectors: construction materials and real estate. It has been the leading enterprise in the domestic construction materials market and the biggest investor of industrial zones in Vietnam’s northern region.  

Despite being known for products such as sanitary ware, ceramic and granite tiles, terracotta, and non-fired materials, and exporting to 40 countries, glass is the most promising product of Viglacera in the current market circumstances.

In the real estate sector, Viglacera owns five urban areas, four shopping - office malls, and ten industrial parks with a total area of 3,580 ha.

It has 40 subsidiaries and affiliates. In the construction materials sector it owns three sanitary ware factories, three glass factories, and five ceramic and granite tile factories, among others.

In 2016 the company planned for business results to increase by 6 to 20 per cent compared to 2015. Exceeding expectations, in the first nine months of this year it posted a pre-tax profit of VND557 billion ($24.5 million), up 44 per cent year-on-year and nearly reaching the annual plan of VND559 billion ($24.56 million).

After-tax profit stood at VND455 billion ($20 million) in the first nine months. For next year it has set consolidated revenue at VND9.68 trillion ($425.3 million) and after-tax profit at VND677 billion ($29.7 million), increases of 17.5 per cent and 21.1 per cent, respectively, compared to 2016. The dividend payout has been set at 8 per cent.

From 2015 to 2020, Viglacera has targeted an average growth rate of 10 to 20 per cent in major manufacturing lines. After listing on HNX it will focus on investments, starting from 2017.

VN Economic Times