Petrolimex to list 1.29 bn shares on HCM exchange

The company plans to list more than 1.29 billion shares on the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE) between April 18 and 20 of this year.
Petrolimex chairman Bui Ngoc Bao said at the meeting that listing on the HOSE as the major bourse has higher standards and requirements for listed companies, and those standards/requirements are almost alike international ones.
HOSE is also the exchange that gathers the biggest companies in Vietnam with its VN30 Index, which tracks the performance of the largest 30 firms by market capitalisation, Bao said.
“Petrolimex will be admitted to the VN30 Index. This is the target and expectation by both the company and its shareholders,” Bao said.
Debut price for Petrolimex remains unknown but Bao said the price would be calculated by the market but still ensure the interests of shareholders.
Petrolimex would announce its debut share price when the first trading day was near, he added.
The IPO price will not be lower than the price level, at which Petrolimex sold a part of its capital to JX Nippon Oil & Energy, a member of the Japanese energy group JX Holdings.
JX Nippon Oil and Energy in late 2015 spent 39,017 dongs (US$1.71) per share to purchase 103.5 million new shares issued by Petrolimex. The deal was worth 4 trillion dongs .
The deal was considered profitable for the Japanese company, as many investors have offered to buy shares of Petrolimex at higher price levels.
The trading price of Petrolimex’s shares on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market had varied between 47,000-50,000 dongs per share, Bao said. Petrolimex’s shares were traded at 49,000 dongs per share on Thursday on the OTC market.
The Japanese firm will be the only strategic investor at Petrolimex, and it may increase its ownership in the Vietnamese petroleum company, Bao said.
JX Nippon Oil |and Energy is holding|an 8 per cent stake |in Petrolimex. The Japanese investor could raise its ownership in the Vietnamese side up to 25 per cent.
After the debut, Petrolimex will become one of the top 10 largest listed companies by market capitalisation, according to Sai Gon Securities Inc (SSI). 
The market capitalisation of Petrolimex on the debut is estimated at $2 billion. The company will rank fifth on the major bourse by total asset, and its earnings per share will rank second after dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM).
Petrolimex also planned to list on the Singapore’s stock market as Singapore is a financial centre of the region and many energy firms were trading on the Singapore Exchange, Bao said.
Petrolimex is now the biggest petroleum dealer in Vietnam, occupying 48-50 per cent of the total market. The petroleum business unit contributes 50 per cent of the group’s earnings.