The Ministry of Transport (MoT) will seek the government's permission to continue selling the stakes of state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam—the country’s largest airport operator— to strategic investors.

This is one of MoT's key tasks set for the second half of this year, according to a report released at a meeting today to review the first half performance of the ministry.

The ministry will also seek the prime minister's permission to reduce the state stake in the corporation (ACV) by divestment.

In 2016, when Europe’s leading airport group Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and ACV began negotiations on a stake sale, the deal was considered as the hottest news in the aviation industry. The parties have reached agreement for ADP to become a strategic stakeholder of ACV. ADP wants to buy a 20 per cent stake in ACV.

According to the annual general shareholders’ meeting held in late June, ACV, which is now the operator of 22 airports, targets a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue, to rake in VND13.3 trillion ($583.6 million) this year.

The company also targets pre-tax profits of VND3.66 trillion ($161 million), an increase of 7 per cent over 2016, and expects to pay a dividend of 9 per cent.

The corporation expects to welcome 27 million international passengers in 2017, a surge of 14 per cent year-on-year, while the number of domestic passengers is projected to reach 64 million, up 12 per cent year-on-year.

VIR