Foreign trade lender Vietcombank continues looking for a mergerpartner, according to a statement by bank Chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh,speaking during an April 24 shareholders meeting.
"The managementboard has to study the issue and yet has no detailed schemes. We shallinform shareholders when an official partner is found," he said. "As weaim to become the No. 1 bank in Vietnam, in terms of size and quality,this must be scrutinised with caution."
He added that anypotential partner would have to be financially secure and have theability to help the bank boost its scale, capital and network.
WhileVietcombank shareholders had adopted the merger plan in late 2014,State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Governor Nguyen Van Binh said in Januarythat Vietcombank was set to merge with Saigonbank as part of the generalbanking reform.
Binh said all operational indicators atVietcombank were healthy, but the bank needed to become more innovativeto transform itself and overcome certain hindrances in its futuredevelopment.
"In order to become the No. 1 bank in Vietnam,Vietcombank has no other option but to take part in the restructuringprocess, together with the SBV – specifically through the merger withSaigonbank," he noted.
However, asked by shareholders todaywhether Vietcombank would merge with one of the five credit institutionsin which it owned stakes, Thanh affirmed that the management board hadnot planned for that.
According to news website cafebiz.vn, thebank currently holds stakes of 4.37 percent in Saigonbank and 5.07percent in Orient Commercial Bank, alongside 9.59 percent in MilitaryBank, 8.24 percent in Eximbank and 10.91 percent in Cement FinanceCompany.
Thanh said, as new State regulations stipulated that acredit organisation was allowed to hold shares in no more than two othercredit institutions, with a combined stake of 5 percent at maximum,Vietcombank would gradually divest from those lenders.
He addedthat the State's stake in Vietcombank was expected to fall to 65 percentin the future, from the current 77 percent, as the bank planned toincrease capital by offering other shareholders a greater ratio of itsequity.
This year, the bank targeted a pre-tax profit of 5.90trillion VND (280.95 million USD), equivalent to last year's figure, anda dividend rate of 10 percent. It also aimed to report a deposit growthof 12 percent, lending growth of 13 percent, and a bad debt ratio ofbelow 2.5 percent.
Its total asset value is expected to grow 11.5 percent year-on-year to 643 trillion VND (30.62 billion USD) in 2015.-VNA
"The managementboard has to study the issue and yet has no detailed schemes. We shallinform shareholders when an official partner is found," he said. "As weaim to become the No. 1 bank in Vietnam, in terms of size and quality,this must be scrutinised with caution."
He added that anypotential partner would have to be financially secure and have theability to help the bank boost its scale, capital and network.
WhileVietcombank shareholders had adopted the merger plan in late 2014,State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Governor Nguyen Van Binh said in Januarythat Vietcombank was set to merge with Saigonbank as part of the generalbanking reform.
Binh said all operational indicators atVietcombank were healthy, but the bank needed to become more innovativeto transform itself and overcome certain hindrances in its futuredevelopment.
"In order to become the No. 1 bank in Vietnam,Vietcombank has no other option but to take part in the restructuringprocess, together with the SBV – specifically through the merger withSaigonbank," he noted.
However, asked by shareholders todaywhether Vietcombank would merge with one of the five credit institutionsin which it owned stakes, Thanh affirmed that the management board hadnot planned for that.
According to news website cafebiz.vn, thebank currently holds stakes of 4.37 percent in Saigonbank and 5.07percent in Orient Commercial Bank, alongside 9.59 percent in MilitaryBank, 8.24 percent in Eximbank and 10.91 percent in Cement FinanceCompany.
Thanh said, as new State regulations stipulated that acredit organisation was allowed to hold shares in no more than two othercredit institutions, with a combined stake of 5 percent at maximum,Vietcombank would gradually divest from those lenders.
He addedthat the State's stake in Vietcombank was expected to fall to 65 percentin the future, from the current 77 percent, as the bank planned toincrease capital by offering other shareholders a greater ratio of itsequity.
This year, the bank targeted a pre-tax profit of 5.90trillion VND (280.95 million USD), equivalent to last year's figure, anda dividend rate of 10 percent. It also aimed to report a deposit growthof 12 percent, lending growth of 13 percent, and a bad debt ratio ofbelow 2.5 percent.
Its total asset value is expected to grow 11.5 percent year-on-year to 643 trillion VND (30.62 billion USD) in 2015.-VNA
