Dung Quat Refinery plans for IPO

Hanoi (VNA) — Vietnam’s first oil refinery operator Binh Son Refinery and Petrochemical Co Ltd (BSR) has planned its domestic initial public offering (IPO) with 5-6 percent of its capital in the fourth quarter of the year.

The BSR, which owns the 3-billion USD Dung Quat Oil Refinery, revealed the plan on May 18, adding that the remaining shares would be offered to strategic investors.

Tran Ngoc Nguyen, BSR’s general director, said it has selected a consultancy firm to implement divestment plans at the three capital contribution units of PV Building, PMS and PVOS to prepare for the IPO.

Answering a question on the modest rate of the IPO, Nguyen said BSR had carefully considered the number of offered shares and taken note of recommendations from the consultancy firm.

Nguyen added that all information on business value and offered price would be announced later this month after receiving approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The IPO will be divided into two periods. During the first period, BSR will be transferred into a privatisation model, offering shares to its staff and an IPO which is set to be completed in 2017. It will complete the offering to strategic investors in the next 12 months.

He expected BSR to sell up to 36 percent of its shares to strategic investors with strong financial resources and experience in the refinery sector.

Nguyen Hoai Giang, BSR’s chairman, affirmed the determination for privatisation despite the unfavourable conditions of the financial market and decreasing oil prices, which have affected investors’ confidence.

He expected BSR would be privatised at the earliest to attract strategic investors to participate in the refinery’s expansion and development in the future.

Since its operations in 2009, the refinery’s total revenue is 834 trillion VND and profit is 13 trillion VND. In the first five months of the year, its revenue reached 35 trillion VND, representing an increase of 18 percent from the set target.

Dung Quat, the first-ever oil refinery of Vietnam, opened in 2009 with capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually, or 140 thousand barrels per day. The refinery was put into official operation in 2009 and has undergone overall maintenance twice -- in 2011 and 2014.-VNA