Vietnam Forest Corporate to launch IPO in April

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Forest Corporate (Vinafor) will offer 24.5 million shares or a 7-percent stake at an initial public offering on April 21.

The state-owned corporation, which is based in Hanoi, has also chosen multi-industry investment firm T&T Group as a strategic shareholder. The shares will be auctioned on the Hanoi Stock Exchange at a starting price of 10,100 VND (0.45 USD) each.

After equitisation, Vinafor will have charter capital of 3.5 trillion VND, corresponding to 350 million shares. The state still holds a 51 percent stake, while IPO investors have seven percent and staff employees have two percent.

Established in 1995 following the merger of 10 state-owned corporations, Vinafor is involved in planting, forest protection and forest product processing in the country. It is also involved in office leasing services. In 2015, its sales reached 1.2 trillion VND, an increase of 15 percent over 2014. It also reported after-tax profit of 159 billion VND.

After equitisation, Vinafor has only 14 subordinate units, 13 subsidiaries and 29 associated companies.

It carries out its business in 12 cities and provinces with a land fund of 43,450ha, including good business locations in Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong and Binh Dinh Province.

Vinafor has been constructing high-rise apartments in the capital's Ha Dong district and an office building in Quy Nhon City in Binh Dinh province. The two constructions will be completed in 2016 and 2017.

Vinafor earned 179 billion VND in dividend in 2015 from its subsidiaries and associated companies.

Yamaha Motor Vietnam was founded in 1998 as a joint venture of Vinafor, with a 30 percent stake, Yamaha Motor Japan and Hong Leong Malaysia. This investment is worth 1.12 trillion VND now.

As one of the major motorbike distributors in Vietnam, Yamaha Motor Vietnam has achieved good business results. It reportedly earned 18.5 trillion VND in revenue and after-tax profit of 648 billion VND in 2014.

At the end of 2015, while determining the enterprise's valuation for equitisation, Vinafor valued its stake in Yamaha of 916 billion VND. This investment alone accounted for one-fourth of the total value of Vinafor. The value was only based on the book value, actual valuation of the 30 percent stake in Yamaha would undoubtedly be much higher, according to securities expert.-VNA