Petrovietnam Insurance Corporation (PVI), Vietnam's third-largest insurer, has won initial approval to list on the over-the-counter Hanoi stock market (HASTCI), the exchange said on Thursday.
Hanoi-based PVI, the insurance arm of state oil and gas Petrovietnam group, was given approval to list all its 50 million shares, exchange director Tran Van Dung said in a statement.
Dung did not say when PVI would make its share debut.
Shares in PVI fell to 75,000-77,000 dong ($4.65-$4.77) on the unofficial markets this week from 80,000-82,000 dong early last month, valuing the firm at $235 million.
Vietnam's insurance sector has grown rapidly in recent years as domestic economic growth was more than 8 percent in 2005 and 2006. The government expects 9 percent growth in the second half of this year, up from 7.87 percent in the first half.
The Hanoi market said in another statement that PVI had raised 36.8 billion dong ($2.3 million) from selling 483,400 shares on Tuesday at an average price of 76,190 dong.
The shares sold were left from an auction in June in which investors bid but then refused to buy the stocks, the Hanoi market said without giving a reason for the refusal.
The share sale was part of PVI's plan to issue more than 35 million shares, with proceeds going to building three oil tankers, buying stakes in two financial firms and a power plant construction firm in Laos.
Last year, PVI had an 18.09 percent market share of Vietnam's non-life insurance market, making it the third biggest after Bao Viet, which had a 34.94 percent share, and Bao Minh (BMI) with 21.29 percent, industry reports said.
The Hanoi market's index, now with 88 listed firms, fell 0.57 percent to close at 258.52 points on Thursday.
Source: Reuters
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