Eight commercial joint-stock banks still have chartered capital of less than one trillion dong, including Navibank, Western Bank, DaiA Bank, MeKong Bank, Ficombank, PG Bank, VietBank, GiaDinh Bank.

Many other banks have chartered capital of less than three trillion dong and they all are gearing up to search for capital sources to increase their chartered capital, or they will have their operation licenses revoked by the end of 2010.

High hopes on big shareholders

Banks are now under hard pressure, because it is difficult to issue public shares to increase chartered capital. Bank share prices on the stock market have been declining, making plans to issue additional shares impossible. Investors are indifferent to bank shares, even when banks offer to sell shares at 10,000 dong, equal to the face value.

As such, banks can only rely on big shareholders to increase chartered capital.

HDBank’s plan to increase chartered capital from 1550 billion dong currently to 3500 billion dong has been approved by the shareholders. They have few worries, because the bank can rely on big shareholders. In the first phase, HDBank will issue shares to existing shareholders and staff to increase chartered capital from 1550 billion dong to two trillion dong. In the second phase, the bank will issue shares to existing shareholders, staff and strategic shareholders to raise capital to 3500 billion dong.

Nguyen Quang Dinh, General Director of PG Bank, is also unconcerned about plans to increase chartered capital. He proposes that it will be not difficult to issue shares to existing shareholders, because PG Bank has many big shareholders who are large legal entities and the shareholders approved plans to increase chartered capital already.

Similarly, VietBank, one of the banks whose chartered capital is still low at one trillion dong, will have enough by the end of 2010 because the bank is being backed by big shareholders, including Hoa Lam Group and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB).

Other banks are also backed by big shareholders. DaiA Bank has Tin Nghia group, which is holding more than 50 percent of the bank’s stakes. Navibank, Western Bank and Gia Dinh Bank have been supported by the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Saigon Investment Group and Viecombank. Therefore, the banks are confident that they can increase their capital in time.

Seeking strategic shareholders

Many commercial banks are seeking strategic partners to speed up capital increases. Some banks are even negotiating with foreign partners.

Tran Thi Thanh Thanh, Chair of Mekong Bank, revealed that they will soon increase chartered capital to three trillion dong to be able to open 20 more transaction points this year.

According to Thanh, Mekong Bank plans to issue shares worth 20-30 percent of chartered capital to strategic shareholders, both domestic and foreign, and will sell the remaining shares to existing shareholders. Mekong Bank is trolling for suitable foreign strategic partners

Navibank and Viet A Bank are negotiating with investors to find suitable strategic shareholders. Trust Bank has found a foreign strategic partner, but the two sides will only agree once the bank successfully increases its capital from two trillion dong to three trillion dong by the end of 2010.

Financial analysts commented that it is not easy to find foreign partners at this moment, because the world’s economy has not completely recovered.

In the latest news, the State Bank of Vietnam is considering a request that banks raise five trillion dong in chartered capital by December 31, 2012 and 10 trillion dong by December 31, 2015.

Source: Dau tu chung khoan