BIDV's IPO plans

Vietnam's third-largest bank, the state-run Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV or Vietindebank), will seek an initial public offering in the fourth quarter of this year and list shares by the second quarter of 2008.

But Vietindebank General Director Tran Bac Ha did not say how much the bank, which had total assets of 10 billion US$ at the end of 2006, wanted to raise at the share offering.
"After the IPO we will hold a shareholder meeting, and there is a process to follow, so the share listing would be in the first or the second quarter of 2008," he said late on Thursday.
Hanoi-based Vietindebank, along with Vietcombank, Incombank and the Mekong Delta Housing Development Bank are the state-run banks ordered by the government to equitize in 2007.
Agribank, the country's largest bank, will follow in 2008 to complete part of the banking sector reform viewed by foreign investors as a test for Vietnam in realizing commitments made when it joined the World Trade Organization in January.

Vietindebank officials said the lender would pick a foreign consultant for its equitization process, similar to steps taken by Vietcombank, the country's second-largest bank, and the Mekong Delta Housing Development Bank.

Vietcombank will sign a deal on Monday to hire global investment bank Credit Suisse for its equitization and Deutsche Bank has been chosen to help the Mekong Delta housing bank, banking officials said.
Pending a government approval on the IPO, Vietindebank has been diversifying business to build finance strength.

Last year, Moody's Investors Service ranked the bank's creditworthiness as Ba1 for an issuer of Vietnamese dong with a stable outlook.
"We aim for an asset of VND200 trillion (12.5 billion US$) at the end of this year," Ha said before signing a strategic partnership agreement with Vietnam's largest telecoms firm, VNPT.
The agreement allows the two to use each other's nationwide network and services and gives them the right to become each other's strategic shareholders when conducting IPOs.
The unlisted bank projected its gross profit this year to jump 63.5% on 2006 to VND2 trillion, Ha said.
"Overall we aim for growth of 23% this year," he added.

Vietindebank said it would prioritize to use VNPT's telecoms services and widen banking services to more areas where VNPT already has post offices. VNPT runs Vinaphone and

MobiFone, Vietnam's largest mobile-phone networks which also plan IPOs soon.
Vietindebank will form two investment funds with VNPT, the Vietnam Oil and Gas group, state utility Vietnam Electricity group and several domestic firms to raise around 1 billion US$to build power plants, roads and ports.

Last month, the bank signed partnership deals with a policy bank, the Vietnam Development Bank, and a Vietnamese firm, the Hoa Phat group that deals with steel production, construction and trading to expand lending and financial investment.
Sacombank, Vietnam's first listed bank, bought this week 1 million shares in Hoang Anh Gia Lai group that has business from wood processing to tourism to real estate.

Source: VNA