HÀ NỘI — Vincom Retail, the Vietnamese mall operator under the property and retail conglomerate Vingroup JSC, plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) this year, according to Bloomberg.

The company aims to mobilise about US$600 million through the sale, which may include a sale of existing shares as well as new stock, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

Vincom Retail is preparing to raise funds as economic growth in Việt Nam raises living standards and increases shoppers’ disposable incomes. The benchmark VN Index this month hit its highest level since 2008, while the Asian Development Bank forecasts the nation’s economy will grow 6.3 per cent this year.

The $600 million offering of Vincom Retail is expected to become the country’s second largest IPO in a decade, trailing only the 2007 share sale from Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Việt Nam when it was selected for a government pilot programme for equitisation in the banking sector.

The last IPO that topped $100 million came from local airline VietJet Aviation JSC, whose shares are up 48 per cent since they started trading in February.

The exact size of the Vincom Retail offering hasn’t been set yet, and the timetable for the listing could slip, the people told Bloomberg.

Việt Nam News contacted Vingroup representatives for confirmation, but they declined to comment.

The global private equity investment fund Warburg Pincus bought a 20 per cent stake in Vincom Retail in 2013. It completed another $100 million investment two years later.

Vincom Retail, considered the largest shopping mall operator in Việt Nam, has 20 malls in operation or under development in prime locations nationwide.

The existing prime assets of Vincom Retail include Vincom Đồng Khởi and Vincom Thủ Đức in HCM City, Vincom Hạ Long in Quảng Ninh Province, Vincom Ngô Quyền in Đà Nẵng City, and Vincom Bà Triệu, Vincom Long Biên, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City and Vincom Mega Mall Times City in Hà Nội.

Since Warburg Pincus’s initial investment, Vincom Retail has expanded its portfolio from fewer than five properties to around 40 malls totaling 1.1 million square metres. It accounts for more than 60 per cent market share in the country’s modern retail industry, Bloomberg reports. — VNS