Vietnam’s Military Bank Said to Seek $240 Million in Stake Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank plans to raise about $240 million from the sale of a 7.5% stake to foreign investors via a private placement, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sale of the 7.5% stake, or 141.5 million new shares and 47 million treasury shares, is expected to be completed by the end of this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public yet.

The book is currently open to bids from interested investors, the people said. The Hanoi-based bank, also known as MB, has offered shares to about 100 investors and is currently working with about 40 investors from countries that include Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

MB has “good earnings prospects” while asset quality is controlled at a reasonable level, Bao Viet Securities JSC wrote in a September 12 note to investors. The bank’s net profit rose to 2.2 trillion dong ($95 million) in the third quarter, compared with 1.76 trillion dong in the same period last year.

MB’s shares have surged 30% this year versus a 14.6% advance of the benchmark VN Index.

SSI Securities Corp. is the sole adviser and book-runner for the deal, the people said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nguyen Kieu Giang in Hanoi at giang1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net, John Boudreau, Clarissa Batino

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