VINACHEM

HCM CITY — Three commmercial banks – Orient Commercial Bank, Western Bank, and Navibank – have announced plans to comply with higher charter capital requirements by the end of the year in order to list shares on one of the nation's two stock exchanges.

Under current central bank regulations, all listed banks must maintain charter capital of at least VND3 trillion (US$158 million).

Orient Commercial Bank shareholders have approved a plan to issue 110 million additional shares this year and increase charter capital from VND2 trillion (US$105.3 million) to VND3.1 trillion ($163.2 million).

With shares currently traded on the over-the-counter market, the bank is also carrying out necessary procedures to list on the HCM City Stock Exchange at the end of the year.

Last year, Orient posted a profit of VND272 billion ($14.3 million), an increase of 135 per cent over the previous year. Its total assets as of December 31, 2009, reached nearly VND12.7 trillion ($668.4 million). Deposits rose by 22 per cent to a total of VND10 trillion ($526.3 million) while outstanding loans increased 19 per cent over the previous year to VND10 trillion. The bank's bad debt ratio was 2.64 per cent.

This year, the bank expects to pay a 10-per-cent dividend on profits of VND400 billion ($21.1 million). It projects deposits to increase by 40 per cent and outstanding loans by 30 per cent over 2009.

The bank is also in negotiations with its French strategic partner, BNP Paribas, to raise the foreign bank's holding from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, upon approval of the State Bank.

Meanwhile, Western Bank received approval from the HCM City Stock Exchange this week to list 100 million shares in May under the code WEB. It will carry out a plan to increase charter capital from VND1 trillion ($52.6 million) to VND3 trillion after listing.

Navibank is completing procedures to list on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange by the end of this quarter

(Source: VNS)