FPT Retail on Thursday listed 40 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh City bourse while budget carrier Vietjet has again expressed interest in listing its shares on an overseas stock exchange.
FPT Retail lists shares on HoSE
FPT Retail, the digital retail arm of Vietnamese tech conglomerate FPT Corporation, on Thursday listed 40 million shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) at VND 125,000 ($5.53) apiece, valuing the company at VND 5 trillion ($220 million).
FPT Retail’s shares will trade under stock code FRT. The retailer owns two retail chains: FPT Shop, which sells mobile phones, laptops and accessories from multiple brands, and F.Studio, which offers genuine Apple products and accessories.
FPT Retail has an 18 per cent share of the mobile phone retail market in Vietnam, after Mobile World (45 per cent).
In 2017, FPT Retail reached nearly VND13.2 trillion ($580.8 million) in revenue and VND290 billion ($12.7 million) in profit after tax, up 21 per cent and 40 per cent respectively year-on-year. The retailer is planning to expand its business with a foray into the $5-billion pharmaceuticals market.
Last year, FPT sold a 30 per cent equity interest in FPT Retail to Dragon Capital and VinaCapital.
Currently, the three largest shareholders of FPT Retail are FPT Corporation (47 per cent), followed by Dragon Capital (20 per cent) and VinaCapital (15 per cent).
Vietjet again says interested in overseas listing
VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., which controls almost half of Vietnam’s domestic airline market, is considering to list its shares on an overseas stock exchange, its founder and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao mentioned during its shareholders’ meeting on April 26.
Thao said Vietjet has been receiving attention from some foreign stock exchanges including London, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. At present, the company, she said, is working on challenges related to listing overseas such as time zone differences and legal issues.
Le Nhi Nang, Representative of the State Security Commission in Ho Chi Minh City, said that Vietjet should consider an overseas listing, possibly Singapore. If successful, Vietjet will be the first Vietnamese company to officially trade overseas, he said.
The plan for the 41 trillion-dong ($1.8 billion) low-cost carrier comes amid the government’s easing of rules to allow more foreign investment in one of the fastest-growing aviation markets.
Hanoi-based Vietjet received shareholder approval in April last year to boost its foreign ownership limit to 49 per cent from 30 per cent.
Vietjet had raised $170 million through an IPO in 2016, attracting large buyers like BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.
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