VN's largest shrimp exporter to delist from HoSE
VN's largest shrimp exporter to delist from HoSE
Minh Phu Seafood Group Corporation (MPC), Viet Nam's largest shrimp exporter by revenue in 2014, will officially delist from the HCM City Stock Exchange (HoSE) from March 31 onwards.
The delisting of the company's 70 million shares is aimed at seeking strategic partners and restructuring the company, MPC stated.
MPC was listed on HoSE in 2007 at VND70,000(US$3.28) per share. On March 5 this year, each MPC share was closed at VND110,000 ($5.16) on the exchange. It was equivalent of an 86.44 per cent increase in value from the listing date.
The prospect of delisting was mentioned in early 2013 for the first time, when foreign partners sought to buy stakes in the company, but were faced with limitations in Viet Nam.
Under the current regulations, foreign investors are not allowed to hold more than a 49 per cent of stake in a local listed company.
In late January, the Chairman of MPC, Le Van Quang, told Bloomberg.com that he planned to raise the company's registered capital by 20 per cent to VND840 billion ($39.4 million), but he could not raise enough target capital if he continued to stay listed on the local exchange. According to the financial site cafef.vn, MPC earned profit after tax of VND565 billion ($26.5 million), an increase of 3.6 times over 2013.
Quang also shared with local media that his company had earned net revenue of nearly VND16 trillion ($751 million) in 2014.
MPC was established in the southern province of Ca Mau in 1992 as a private seafood business. It now exports shrimp and other products, including cuttlefish, octopus, crab, surimi, and sea fish to over 60 countries, including the biggest importers such as the United States, Japan and the European Union.
MPC has become a global company with the highest export turnover in Viet Nam in 2014, saying it will touch $1 billion in the near future.
