HÀ NỘI — Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), previously known as Vinashin, will sell its entire holding of nearly 4.48 million shares, equivalent to 7.53 per cent stake, in PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard (PV Shipyard).

The purpose is to restructure its capital and investments in enterprises.

The sale will be held on October 21 on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange with a starting price of VNĐ10,000 (US$0.45) per share.

This divestment is in line with the Government’s policy of requesting state-owned enterprises to divest in non-core business sectors. The sale of shares after nearly one decade of holding is aimed at restructuring SBIC’s capital and investments and providing additional funds for the company’s business activities.

PV Shipyard, founded in 2007, is a member of the state-owned Việt Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), which engages in construction, conversion, upgrade and repair of diversified types of offshore rigs/structures.

It has charter capital of nearly VNĐ595 billion, of which PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation is the largest stakeholder with 28.75 per cent. SBIC holds 7.53 per cent stake. Others include lender BIDV and LILAMA Corporation, which each own over four per cent of capital.

PV Shipyard has been the only profitable venture since 2014 with modest net profit of VNĐ20 billion. Its profit increased to nearly VNĐ39 billion in 2015 and to VNĐ66 billion in the first half of this year, exceeding the yearly target of VNĐ24.5 billion set for 2016.

However, the company still incurred cumulative losses of nearly VNĐ71 billion at the end of June 2016. It is also indebted with total loans of over VNĐ1.6 trillion, a three-fold increase over its equity capital.

PV Shipyard expects to earn VNĐ1.6 trillion in revenue and VNĐ24.5 billion in net profit for this year, both down 30 per cent from last year’s levels due to expectations of prolonged low oil prices in the global markets. – VNS