Vinalines to divest stakes in shipping firms
Vinalines to divest stakes in shipping firms
Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will divest its capital in some shipping enterprises to streamline its operations and raise funds for debt payment, officials said.
Acting General Director of Vinalines Nguyen Canh Tinh noted in a press release that after converting to a joint stock company, Vinalines will continue divesting capital in some shipping firms in the coming time, such as Vietnam Ocean Shipping JSC (Vosco) and Vinaship Joint Stock Company, in which Vinalines is the largest shareholder, holding a 51% stake.
The divestment was aimed at simplifying its operation mechanism, cutting Vinalines’ debts and strengthening the group’s focus on other potential sectors such as seaport and maritime services, according to Tinh.
Earlier, Vinalines had auctioned stakes and reduced its ownership in Vietnam Sea Transport and Chartering Joint Stock Company (Vitranschart), one of the shipping firms incurring heavy losses, from 58% to 36%.
A report from Vinalines indicated that the group’s performance in the shipping sector helped reduce its losses by 80% in 2018 and improve its revenue by 15.5%, as well as raise its output by 24.5% versus the 2017 target.
As of December last year, the total number of shipping firms under Vinalines was reported at 11, with 82 cargo vessels having a combined tonnage of over 1.7 million DWT.
Vinalines earned VND14 trillion in revenue and VND365 billion in pretax profit last year.
Vinalines set a 2019 target of earning some VND12.7 trillion in revenue and VND710 billion in pretax profit, surging 94% against the figures last year.
