Banks move ahead with M&A plans

Apr 1st at 23:02

01-04-2013 23:02:05+07:00

Merger and acquisition (M&A) plans are a topic of discussion at many banks’ shareholder’s meetings.

The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of Trust Bank held in January 2013 approved the restructuring plan, under which new shareholders would buy 84 percent of the bank’s stakes. Of the new shareholders, Thien Thanh Group alone would hold 9.67 percent.

Therefore, the bank now expects the big changes with the board of directors. It is expected that the board of directors with the new faces would present itself at the annual shareholders’ meeting to be held in the first quarter of 2013, after getting the nod from the State Bank of Vietnam.

As such, Trust Bank has decided not to rely on the bailout from the State, having successfully called the investment capital from domestic private sources. Trust Bank, which plans to issue more shares to outside shareholders to raise capital, will take initiative in dealing with its internal problems and undergoing the restructure.

Western Bank has decided to merge into PetroVietnam Finance Corporation (PVFC). The merger plan was approved by the former’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on March 16. In the latest news, the State Bank of Vietnam has agreed in principle to the merger of the two finance institutions.

Dau tu has quoted its sources as saying that after the merger plan got the approval from Western Bank’s shareholders, it would be submitted to PVFC’s shareholders’ meeting. The two sides would sit to compile a detailed merger plan which would be submitted to the State Bank of Vietnam for approval.

If everything goes smoothly, a new bank which is the merger of Western Bank and PVFC would be established at a shareholders’ meeting in 2013. The new bank is expected to have the huge chartered capital of VND9 trillion.

The State Bank has released a document, approving the plan of Saigon Bank (SCB) to increase its chartered capital from VND10.58 trillion to VND13.58 trillion in a plan approved by its shareholders’ meeting on November 27, 2012.

The bank’s chartered capital increase in the first quarter of 2013 shows that shareholders keep confidence on SCB, which will help the bank recover quickly.

There has been no official information about Navibank and GP Bank. According to Deputy Director of the HCM City Branch of the State Bank--Nguyen Hoang Minh, the restructure plan of Navibank has been forwarded by the branch to the central bank, but there has been no reply so far. Navibank has declined to provide any relating information.

Investors now look forward to hearing the news about the merger of HD Bank and Dai A Bank, which has decided to restructure itself, though the bank is not subject to the compulsory restructuring plan set by the State Bank.

Though the two sides denied the merger plan in late 2012, opinions from well informed circle said the plan to merge into HD Bank would be submitted to the shareholders’ meeting for approval.

Eximbank’s President--Le Hung Dung, has revealed that the annual shareholder’s meeting of the bank would take place on April 26, at which Eximbank would inform to the shareholders’ meeting about the steps for merging the bank into Sacombank. It is expected that the merger process would be completed in 3-5 years.