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Vinalines to try its luck with second public share offering

The state-owned Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will try a second public share sale of the remaining 480 million shares not purchased at its recent public offering early September, reported Vietnam News. The company said it will come back to the Hanoi Stock Exchange soon to complement its initial public offering (IPO) which attracted little interest.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

September 24, 2018

1 Min Read
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The offering failed to reach its goal of selling a 34.8% stake for $210m, raising just $2.33m (VDN 54.35bn) on Hanoi Stock Exchange 5 September, nearly 1% of the offered shares. The auction attracted just 42 investors, including 40 individual investors and two organisations, said local media at the time. The highest bid value reached $0.56 per share (VND13,000). 

Vinalines said it will offer up all the shares leftover from the IPO, as well as those which were meant to be sold at preferential rates to its employees and the trade union.

Read more: Vinalines IPO falls sharply short of target

The eligible investors are those who won bidding at the IPO on 5 September, with the price the same as their winning prices at that event. Investors can register to take part in the next offering until 4pm of 30 September, Vinalines said. The date for the future offering has not been released yet.

Vinalines is a major player in shipping, seaport and maritime services with a fleet of 84 vessels totalling 1.8m dwt, but its business activities have continuously recorded losses since 2008. In 2017, the core sector of Vinalines recorded a loss of $26.9m. In the first six months of 2018, Vinalines posted $283.8m in total revenue and $3.13m in pre-tax profit.

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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