One of the requirements of the prime minister for the banking industry in the period of 2016 2020 is that all banks must be listed on the stock market to ensure transparency. However, by the end of the first half of 2020, many banks still seem to be far from the finish line.
According to the latest update from the 2020 Annual general Meeting (AGM) of An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank), the bank will change its listing roadmap. Accordingly, the depository and listing roadmap is temporarily suspended to wait for the completion of the legal procedures for the new head office. There is no specific time for ABBank’s listing yet.
Previously, at the 2019 AGM, ABBank’s shareholders had high expectations that the bank would soon list on the HCM City Stock Exchange (HoSE) in 2019 to increase the liquidity of its shares. ABBank’s reallocation of its head office to Hanoi was also approved in 2019.
According to Decision 242 signed by the prime minister on February 28th 2019 approving the “Scheme on restructuring the stock market and insurance market by 2020 with orientation to 2025″, by the end of 2020, all commercial banks must list shares or register shares for trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM).
However, up to now, among 31 banks operating in the market, only 18 bank stocks are traded on the stock market, including 10 stocks listed on HoSE: VCB, CTG, BID, TCB, MBB, VPB, HDB, EIB, STB, and TPB; and three stocks listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), including ACB, SHB, and NVB; and five listed stocks on the UPCoM, including LPB, VIB, VBB, BAB, and KLB.
While some banks are expecting to switch from HNX to HoSE such as ACB and SHB, some other banks are completing its procedures such as MSB, VietCapitalBank, OCB, many banks have not yet made any clear moves about listing on the stock market this year.
According to the leader of a bank in the process of being listed, the current time is not really suitable for banks to list. “The pandemic has caused difficulties for the global financial market, and Vietnam is also in this situation. Listing at the present time may be detrimental for the bank’s stock price,” said the leader.
At the recent press conference, there was no information about whether the management authority continues to delay the deadline for banks’ listing or not. However, under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial market, this plan is likely to be further extended.
That can create conditions for banks to choose the most suitable time. Nevertheless, this also inadvertently makes banks to take liberties with regulations, particularly those which have intentionally delayed their listing.
There was huge expectation from the market about a wave of banks getting listed at the end of 2019 and early 2020, particularly for those which are processing their listing plans such as MSB, ABBank and OCB. It is expected that there will be such a wave by the end of 2020 to meet the expectations of investors.
