VietNamNet Bridge - According to information released by Vietnam Airlines’ CEO in the Wall Street Journal, the national air carrier will issue shares to the public for the first time (IPO) in November, and will sell 5% of shares to investors to raise $70.6 million.

Minh also told The Wall Street Journal, on the sidelines of an event held on August 27 in Hanoi, that Vietnam Airlines is negotiating with several strategic investors to sell 20% of its shares. Among the potential strategic investors, there is more than one investor from Japan.

After the sale of its shares last November, the government still holds 75% of the shares of Vietnam Airlines, said Minh. He also said that the government plans to gradually sell the shares.

The IPO of Vietnam Airlines is considered by international investors as a "test" for the commitment of the Government of Vietnam in the process of equitization of state-owned enterprises. The government plans to sell stakes in hundreds of state-owned enterprises to take advantage of the fast growing economy.

However, investors do not appear to be eager to invest in state-owned enterprises in Vietnam, partly because of the low transparency in this sector and the long procedures to add the shares of these firms to the transaction.

"I believe that transparency will play an important role in the IPO [of Vietnam Airlines] and the listings of the corporation in the future, and Vietnam Airlines has achieved transparency. The market will tell whether our IPO is a success or not," Minh told the WSJ.

"The IPO is important because we need the participation of foreign investors to help maximize our resources, especially financial resources," said Minh.

He said that most relevant agencies have agreed with Vietnam Airlines’ IPO plan, and the government will finalize the plan in the next few days.

In recent years, Vietnam Airlines has ordered the newest aircraft to take advantage of growing demand for air travel.

According to Mr. Minh, the airline will receive 12 new aircraft from now until the end of next year, including five Boeing 787, four Airbus A350, and three Airbus A321.

He expects that Vietnam's aviation market will grow at a double-digit rate in the next five years.

Dan Tri