The State-run Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood II) raised nearly 1.16 trillion VND (51.1 million USD) from selling 22.97 percent of its stakes at an initial public offering (IPO) on March 14.

Vinafood II, Vietnam's top rice exporter, raises  about 51.1 million USD from selling 22.97 percent of its stakes at an IPO on March 14. Illustrative image.

The top rice exporter sold all of the 114.83 million shares on offer on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange to 41 investors, including 40 individual investors and one organisation.

The shares were offered at an initial price of 10,100 VND per piece, and the average successful bidding price was 10,101 VND. The highest bid value reached 12,000 VND (0.53 USD) per share.

The corporation will sell 25 percent of its stakes to strategic investors in a later move while only 1 percent will be sold to employees and workers at a preferential price. Multi-sector firm T&T Group has been so far the only one filing documents to become Vinafood’s strategic investor.

Vinafood II plays a key role in exporting rice in Vietnam. In the first half of 2017, the company earned 4.43 trillion VND in revenue but reported a loss of 118 billion VND.

Vinafood II is the first out three SOEs to conduct IPOs this March which will float a total of 110 million USD worth of stakes in the market in the second wave of SOEs IPOs in 2018.

The others include Binh Duong Manufacturing & Import Export Corp (Protrade Corp) that will sell 30 million shares, or 10 percent of its charter capital of 3 trillion VND, in the IPO slated for March 28. 

Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) is the last company to make an IPO this month, on March 30 on the Hanoi Stock Exchange. The company will float nearly 76 million shares, or 34.51 percent of its charter capital at the minimum bidding price of 12,800 VND per share.

At this price, the company is valued at almost 2.82 trillion VND, higher than its charter capital of 2.2 trillion VND. If successful, the sale will bring the company at least 971 billion VND.

The State will not hold Hapro’s capital after the equitisation and about 65 percent of its stakes will be sold to strategic investors.-VNA