Pha Lai Thermal Power Co. (PPC), Vietnam's third-largest listed company, will auction more than 85 million state-held shares to reduce government ownership of the firm, market regulators said.
The State Securities Commission said in a statement it had allowed the firm to auction shares held by state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) representing a 27.4% stake in Pha Lai.
The sale would reduce state ownership of Pha Lai to 51% from 78.4%. The statement, seen on Thursday, did not say how much the auction was expected to raise and PPC has yet to announce details of the sale.
The stock closed flat at 95,000 Vietnam Dong on Feb. 15, the last trading day before Vietnam closed the stock market from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23 for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The sale of EVN shares in PPC is part of EVN's plan to divest ownership in smaller power plants to raise funds for new projects.
The Industry Ministry said last month unlisted ENV would invest 2.63 billion US$ in power generation and grids this year, 23.4% more than in 2006, to meet soaring industrial and consumer demand.
PPC made its debut last month on the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center, Vietnam's main stock market, after moving its listing from the Hanoi over-the-counter market.
With a market capitalisation of 29.52 trillion dong (1.84 billion US$), the company is the third-largest listed after information technology firm FPT (FPT) and top dairy product maker Vinamilk (VNM).
PPC's two power plants in the northern province of Hai Duong, 65 km (40 miles) east of Hanoi, have a combined capacity of 1,040 megawatts. They produce nearly 6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, 10% of Vietnam's output.
Source: Reuters
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