Vinalines sets new date for IPO
Vinalines, Vietnam’s largest state-run shipping company and port operator, has set a new date for a long planned IPO, Vietnamese local media reports.
Nguyen Canh Tinh, acting CEO of Vinalines, said the company is planning to launch an IPO in the middle of this year, postponed from an earlier planned IPO date in December.
The IPO is part of efforts by Hanoi to push privatisation among state-owned entities. The government, which will retain 65% of the company, plans to sell 17.25% to strategic partners and another 17.25% to the public.
In 2012, Vinalines was hit with a $2.1bn debt crisis and many senior executives were arrested for fraud. The company later managed to get back on track through a restructuring in which it sold numerous fleet, port and shipyard assets.
According to Tinh, the firm’s revenue was estimated at VND16 trillion ($724m) in 2017, of which over VND4.4 trillion came from port services, while VND7.1 trillion was made from transport services.