VFM gets 2nd fund approved

The Vietnamese Securities Regulator has given the VietFund Management Ltd.Co (VFM) the nod to disburse capital for its second investment fund.

VFM is a joint venture between te bourse-listed Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) and the UK fund management company, Dragon Capital.

The 400bio VND (24mio US$) Vietnam Growth Investment Fund (VF2) has attracted 15 investors. The fund is operational for five years. VF2 eyes shares of companies involved in education, healthcare and IT projects.

The fund had conducted negotiations over three projects whose capital amounts to 40bio VND (2.4mio US$), the fund manager said.

The fund is to increase its capital after investing three-fourths of its total, set for the third quarter of next year.

As the country’s first public fund, VF1 is fully invested in nine listed and 33 unlisted firms since its inception in mid-June 2004.

Foreign investors now own over 38% of VF1 shares.

VF1 plans to sell 12 million more shares in a new first phase to pre-existing shareholders, with those owning every 10 units eligible to buy four new units at the par value of VND10,000.

In phase two, those holding every 15 units can buy four new units at the average net asset value of each VF1 unit in the four latest weeks.

Additionally VietFund is also working with American-owned insurance and reinsurance broker Aon Vietnam to establish a pension fund with initial capital of VND20 billion ($1.2 million).

The company expects numerous companies to authorize VietFund to manage their employees’ retirement funds, increasing planned pension funds one hundred-fold.

Source: Thanh Nien