Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi Port in Districts 4 and 7  is being relocated to Nha Be District under HCM City plan. — Photo cafef.vn

Viet Nam News -HÀ NỘI — The Bank for Industry and Trade of Việt Nam (VietinBank) and Việt Nam Prosperity Bank (VPBank), strategic investors of Sài Gòn Port JSC, asked to sell their holdings in the port at the shareholders general meeting last week.

VietinBank and VPBank  bought a 9.07 per cent stake and 7.44 per cent stake, respectively, when the port underwent equitisation last year.

Although the regulations applied to the purchase included restrictions on transferring the port’s shares for at least five years, the buyers asked the board to permit sales in less than one year.

As of 2016, the port expects VNĐ775 billion (US$34.7 million) in turnover and profit of VNĐ50 billion. The target is much lower than last year’s recorded revenue of more than VNĐ1 trillion and profit of VNĐ85.5 billion.

This year, according to the port, it must relocate Nhà Rồng-Khánh Hội Port under the city’s infrastructure plan by the end of December and must hand over part of the port by the middle of this month. Thus, all services at the parent ports as well as their five subsidiaries will be affected, resulting in reduced output, revenue and profits.

The port also said the Tân Thuận 1 and Tân Thuận 2 ports were restructured within the year, while construction work on Sài Gòn-Hiệp Phước Port was incomplete.

The port has been adjusted retroactively for after-tax profit calculations, with accumulated losses of more than VNĐ1 trillion for 2015, as it failed to report losses of this amount from its associated companies, deepsea container terminal SP-PSA and SP-SSA International Terminal (SSIT), last year. As a result, the port owners’ equity fell by almost half.

So, due to these difficulties, the board must lower the current annual target and will not pay a dividend, in accordance with last year’s equitisation plan.

Also at the meeting, the port said it would sell its shares in Ngọc Viễn Đông JSC which is developing the Vinhomes Khánh Hội project in HCM City. Previously, the port was asked to contribute more capital to keep its current stake of 26 per cent in the company when it raises the charter capital to VNĐ5 trillion in the future.

Based in HCM City since 1860, the port has been a key transport hub for the country, connecting the city to the southern region, the Mekong Delta and the neighbouring country of Cambodia.  

Sài Gòn Port operates important ports in the southern part of Việt Nam, including the Nhà Rồng Khánh Hội, Tân Thuận 1, Tân Thuận 2 and Phú Mỹ Steel ports. The port accounts for 10.5 per cent of the overall throughput in the South. Currently, the port has five subsidiaries offering logistics, commerce, transport and investment services in the city.

The board said it would concentrate this year on upgrading Tân Thuận 2 Port, establishing the Hiệp Phước Service Zone in Nhà Bè District and co-operating with Khahomex Company to build an office building on Nguyễn Tất Thành Street in the inner city.

On April 25, more than 21.6 million shares for the port (SGP) were listed on the unofficial market, making it the fifth-largest firm in UPCoM. After two trading days, SGP shares rose nearly 15 per cent to close at VND16,400 yesterday. — VNS