Vietnam Meat Industries Ltd, a leading player in the nation’s fresh meat and processed-food industry, raised 906.8 billion dong (US$40.7 million) yesterday in its initial public offering (IPO) after receiving bids that were almost six times higher than the offering volume.
The company, known as Vissan, sold about 11.33 million shares, or a 14 percent stake, at an average price of 80,053 dong at the auction, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange said in a statement on its Web site.
It received bids for 63.59 million shares in the IPO. The highest bid was 102,000 dong a share and the lowest was 67,000 dong, compared with the initial price of 17,000 dong.
“We are very happy with the result today,” chief executive Van Duc Muoi said by telephone from Ho Chi Minh City. “After the IPO, we will have changes in management which will help our development in the future.”
The IPO attracted interests from overseas. Seven foreign institutional investors registered to buy 22.63 million shares, more than double the shares the company had offered. Overseas investors ended up buying 3.3 million shares in the IPO, the exchange said.
On March 24, Vissan plans to hold an auction to sell another 14 percent stake to strategic investors, Muoi said.
The company plans to sell the shares at no less than 67,000 dong each, the chief executive said.
Fresh pork and sterilized sausage are key drivers of sales for Vissan, one of the largest pork suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon Securities JSC wrote in a note to investors on Monday last week.
Saigon Securities said Vissan is “suitable” for investors with a long investment horizon who want to gain exposure in the sector.
Business Monitor International said solid economic growth coupled with rapid population expansion would be the main drivers for Vietnam’s retail market. The percentage of households earning more than US$10,000 a year is set to rise from 9.6 percent to 10 percent between this year and 2020.
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