VietNamNet Bridge – Vietinbank, which ranks the 1,764th in the Forbes Global 2000 hopes it can get in-grade promotion, while other Vietnamese businesses hope their names would enter the list one day.

 
First Vietnamese representative in the list of world's largest companies

Japanese BTMU gave Vietinbank a push

Vietinbank has sold 20 percent of its stakes to Japanese BTMU for $743 million, the highest price so far for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam.

Analysts commented that the valuable affairs gave Vietinbank more plus marks when it was considered by Forbes magazine in ranking.

With the sale of 20 percent of stakes, Vietinbank’s chartered capital increased from VND26,218 billion to VND32,661 billion, which has also make its “intangible assets” more valuable.

According to Vietcombank Securities Company, in 2012, Vietinbank lacked the capital in dollar, which forced it to issue international bonds and borrow gold and foreign currencies in the interbank market.

This led to the increase in the average capital cost, while the lending interest rate was lowered as requested by the State Bank, which means that the NIM (net interest margin) of the bank decrease.

In 2013, Vietinbank planned the capital mobilization and credit growth rates of 8 percent and 12 percent, respectively. As Vietinbank expects to receive VND6,443 billion from the stake sale, it would be reasonable move for the bank to set the lower targeted credit growth rate for 2013. This would help Vietinbank to reduce the capital cost and improve the NIM.

Vietinbank’s President Pham Huy Hung also said that BTMU has given a push to Vietinbank, helping the bank go closer to the Forbes’ list of the 2,000 largest and most powerful businesses in the world.

Vietinbank gives more courage to Vietnamese businesses

According to Forbes, by May 2013, Vietinbank’s market capitalization value had reached $2.4 billion. With the assets of $24.2 billion and the profit of $0.3 billion, the bank with 19,840 workers ranks the 874th and 1,682nd in terms of property and profit.

This means that Vietinbank is still far away from the top 100 biggest companies. Analysts have also commented that there is nearly no opportunity for the bank to have the grades close to the big names in the world, such as Chinese ICBC which has overtaken the US oil giant Exxon Mobil for the first time to be the world's largest company, or JPMorgan Chase, the largest company in 2011 which has fallen to the third grade.

Nevertheless, the appearance of Vietinbank in Forbes’ list of 2,000 largest companies still brings a high hope to other Vietnamese enterprises.

The dairy producer Vinamilk, the real estate and hydropower plant developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai, the Vietnamese leading technology group and Vietcombank all have stated that they are striving to become the conglomerates of international stature.

Of these, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and FPT are believed to come closer than others to the Forbes’ list.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai group always obtained the impressive growth rates of 40-45 percent in previous years. Known as a multi-field business, but Hoang Anh Gia Lai has focused on rubber plantation, real estate development and hydropower plants, which have been highly appreciated by international investors and Forbes Asia Magazine.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s international bonds have been attracting foreign investors, while President Doan Nguyen Duc has become more famous with the statement that he would become a dollar billionaire soon.

FPT’s President Truong Gia Binh has stated that the group strives to obtain VND10 trillion in turnover by 2014 and list in name in Forbes 500 by 2025.

DDDN