Việt Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) has to reduce its charter capital as it could not sell shares to strategic investors or at the IPO. — Photo vietstock.vn

HÀ NÔI — Việt Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), the country's biggest shipping firm, has to reduce its charter capital by another 15 per cent due to unability to sell shares.

Recently, the State Capital Management Committee at the enterprise decided to reduce the charter capital of Vinalines from VNĐ14.046 trillion (US$604 million) to more than VNĐ12 trillion. 

The capital is equivalent to 1.2 billion shares with the par value of VNĐ10,000 each. Of which, the State is holding more than 1.19 billion shares, accounting for 99.469 per cent of charter capital; the firm’s employees are holding 392,500 shares or 0.038 per cent of the stake, the trade union of the firm is holding 500,000 shares, or 0.452 per cent of the stake while the last 5,420,900 shares, representing 0.452 per cent of the stake, will be sold to the public.

Chairman of the State Capital Management Committee at the enterprise told the firm to carry out the relevant procedures to organise its first Shareholders General Meeting to announce the successful transfer to a joint stock company and complete the remaining procedures for equitisation as per the law.

Before, the firm planned to sell 207.8 million shares to strategic investors and 280,921,160 shares in a public auction. However, it could not choose any strategic shareholder, thus had to offer the shares in an IPO in 2018 instead of selling to strategic investors.

However, in the IPO, the firm was able to sell only 0.452 per cent out of the 34.8 per cent stake offered.

According to the provisions of Decree No. 126/2017/NĐ-CP, in case of failure to sell all shares in accordance with the approved equitisation plan, the equitised enterprise must adjust its charter capital structure.

As the biggest local shipping firm, Vinalines, founded in 1995, is a 100 per cent State-owned enterprise. It was transformed into a holding company in 2006 and a State-owned one member limited company in 2010.

Currently trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), shares of the firm were rated at VNĐ11,000 each. — VNS