ACB to issue shares

The Asia Commercial Bank, Viet Nam's second largest joint stock bank, will issue 153 million shares this year to raise 1.53 trillion VND in chartered capital.
ACB management released the decision, which aims to raise the bank's chartered capital from 1.1 trillion VND (68.5mio US$) to 2.63 trillion VND (164.4mio US$), at a shareholders' meeting on March 9.
The shares, each worth 10,000 at face value, will be released in three phases.
During the first wave, the release of 33 million shares is expected to add 330 billion VND to ACB's chartered capital this month. Shareholders will be given three bonus shares for every 10 they buy.
During the second wave in April, 110 million shares will be issued to boost ACB's chartered capital by 1.1 trillion VND. Two thirds of these shares will come from convertible bonds valued at 1 million VND to be converted into 100 shares worth 10,000 VND each.
The third wave, the time frame of which has yet to be decided, will aim to add an extra 100 billion VND to the bank's capital by the end of the year.
The bank's management is tasked with issuing bidding regulations and deciding upon bidding prices.
ACB management board chairman, Tran Mong Hung, said that the share issuance aims to ensure the bank's capital adequacy ratio while the extra capital will benefit ACB's affiliates, including the ACB Securities Company, the Financial Leasing Company and the Fund Management Company. The latter two companies will be set up this year.
The capital hike will also enable the bank to modernise and expand its operational network, he said.
ACB's total asset value has reached over 65 trillion VND (4.06 billion US$) while its outstanding loans have gained 25 trillion VND (1.57 billion US$) this year. The bank's pre-tax profit this year has amounted to 1.5 trillion VND (93.8mio US$).
Last year, ACB became the second commercial bank, after the Sai Gon Thuong Tin (Sacombank), to trade shares on the domestic stock market while it was the first on the Ha Noi bourse.

Source: VNA