Vietnam’s sole oil refinery operator aims to raise $155 mln from January IPO

Dung Quat Oil Refinery of Binh Son Company - Photo courtesy of PetroVietnam

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company, which owns the $3.2 billion Dung Quat refinery, is set to offer 242 million shares at an initial price of VND14,600 ($0.64) apiece, CEO Tran Ngoc Nguyen said at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

The state-owned company had originally planned to sell a 4 percent stake, but has repeatedly delayed its IPO. The final date is now set for January 17, Nguyen said.

He said the company also plans to sell a 49 percent stake in the refinery to strategic investors, and has received interest from 17 foreign corporations and investment funds, including the U.S.’s World Petro, Spain’s Repsol and MacronPetro Petroleum of Cyprus.

Tran Thang Long, analysis director of BIDV Securities Company, said that Binh Son’s business performance is going to improve, given the fact it enjoys tariff and land use fee exemptions, and the freedom to set market prices.

Gasoline demand in Vietnam is expected to increase 5.6 percent every year until 2025, Long said.

He said the company reported a VND5.43 trillion ($239 million) profit in the first nine months, while its assets have risen to more than VND11 trillion.

Binh Son’s stake sale is part of the government’s drive to privatize state-owned enterprises to improve their performance.

On Monday, Thai Beverage (TBEV.SI) won an auction to buy a 54 percent stake worth $4.84 billion in top Vietnamese brewer Sabeco.

Vietnam’s public debt hit 63.7 percent of GDP at the end of last year, and is predicted to inch up to 64.8 percent by the end of this year, according to official figures.

The government-sanctioned debt ceiling is 65 percent of GDP.