Vietnam’s second-largest electricity generator, PetroVietnam Power (PV Power), which has a total capacity of 4.2 GW, will float a total of 467.8 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) at a price of VND14,900 ($0.6) from March 6, according to an announcement from the Hanoi Stock Exchange.
The listing comes just a month after the government raised nearly VND7 trillion ($308.1 million) from selling 20 per cent of PV Power at an initial public offering (IPO) on January 31.
The proceeds slightly exceeded the government’s target of at least $297 million from the sale, which is part of a plan to equitize hundreds of State-owned enterprises to boost their performance and ease pressure on the State budget.
According to PV Power CEO Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, the average selling price of VND14,938 ($0.6) was lower than the expectations of many analysts and brokerage firms, which will help investors earn profits and make PV Power’s shares more attractive to strategic investors in the future.
The IPO attracted nearly 2,000 investors (97 institutional investors and nearly 1,900 individuals), who registered to purchase more than 491.4 million shares. Overseas investors bought 12.15 per cent at the IPO, exchange data shows.
The VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), the flagship fund of the Vietnam-focused fund management firm VinaCapital, reportedly invested more than $20 million in PV Power at the IPO.
A further 29 per cent of PV Power will be offered to strategic investors, including both foreign and domestic players. After the equitization process is completed, the government’s ownership will be brought down from 100 per cent to 51 per cent.
The company last year posted nearly VND31 trillion ($1.36 billion) in total revenue and VND2.5 trillion ($109.75 million) in after-tax profit. The Ho Chi Minh Securities Corp., in a report, forecast that PV Power would see its revenue and after-tax profit raising at an annual rate of 10 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, during the 2018-20 period.
Vietnam’s power industry is predicted to be among the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, with an expected annual growth rate of 10 per cent over the next three years.
