Vietnam's Vingroup to list retail unit

HANOI: Vietnam’s Vingroup said on Tuesday it is seeking to list its retail unit, Vincom Retail, on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, after what could be the Southeast Asian country’s biggest private sector IPO.

Vingroup, which has interests in real estate, retail, hotels, e-commerce, healthcare, education, agriculture and car manufacturing among others, said in a statement it had submitted an application for the listing to the exchange on Sept 22.

Vietnam’s fifth-biggest company by market value is aiming to raise up to US$600mil in a domestic initial public offering of Vincom Retail later this year, Thomson Reuters publication IFR reported. It cited people with knowledge of the deal.

In Vietnam, IPOs and listings are two separate processes.

Vincom Retail runs Vingroup’s malls across Vietnam. In 2013 and 2015, US private equity firm Warburg Pincus led investments of a combined US$300mil in Vincom Retail.

Vingroup said a timeline for the listing had not been finalised, pending related authorities’ approval, and it was not able to disclose more information on the plan.

It expected to remain Vincom Retail’s major shareholder after the listing. - Reuters