VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Motors Industry Corporation (Vinamotor)'s initial public offering (IPO) launches in three weeks, but strategic investors remain passive, stated Nguyen Hai Trung, chairman of Vinamotor's Board of Members.

Workers weld a bus chasis at the 1-5 Automobile Company on Nguyen Khe Road in Ha Noi's Dong Anh District.

These remarks were made at a press conference held by the corporation last Friday (March 7).

The corporation will auction 51 million shares or equal to 51 per cent of the charter capital and will be priced at VND10,000, or 5 US cents per share at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on March 27. Its equitisation plan, which has a charter capital of VND1 trillion (US$47.6 million), has been approved by the prime minister.

Without disclosing any specific names of institutional investors, Trung pointed out that the negotiations to find long-term strategic investors were still ongoing. The chairman also confirmed that the corporation will continue to seek strategic investors even after the IPO launch.

Trung hopes that the equitisation will help restructure resources, including human resources, management capacity, and technology.

Amid rising concerns of a likely failure of the IPO, the representatives of Vinamotor stated that the good reputation of the corporation will hopefully be attractive enough to draw investors.

Vinamotor will offer 400,100 privileged shares to its 403 employees. However, the corporation failed to keep track of the number of shares that its employees have registered to buy so far.

The State-owned corporation is yet to release the results of its business performance in 2013. It only estimates that the net revenue in 2013 was equivalent to 96 per cent of that in 2012. However, official figure of Vinamotor's net revenue for 2012 was not available.

Established in 1964, Vinamotor has 14 subsidiaries and 16 joint companies. Its key products include coaches, buses, trucks, and automobile parts.

Source: VNS