Vietnam brokerage VPBank's shares slide on trading debut
HANOI, Dec 11 : Shares of VPBank Securities, the brokerage arm of Vietnam Prosperity Bank, fell in their trading debut on Thursday following the company's $482 million initial public offering, Vietnam's largest in at least three years.
As of 0650 GMT, the stock had extended its decline, sliding 12.7 per cent to 29,600 dong, well below the offer price of 33,900 dong.
Its current market capitalisation stands at 55.7 trillion dong ($2.11 billion), down from 63.6 trillion dong after the IPO.
Vietnam's benchmark index, one of Southeast Asia's top performers with a 34.6 per cent gain year-to-date, has slipped 1.71 per cent over the past week. The index dropped as much as 1.3 per cent to 1,696 on Thursday afternoon.
Vietnam's IPO market has recently gained momentum, supported by a stock rally, regulatory reforms, increased credit activity and the country's upgrade to emerging market status by index provider FTSE Russell, in spite of persistent net selling by foreign investors.
Earlier this year, Techcom Securities raised $410 million with an IPO, achieving a valuation of $4 billion.
VPS, the country's largest brokerage by market share, is going to make its debut next Monday.
The IPO wave among securities firms is driven by the need to raise capital to meet new regulatory requirements and expand their margin lending operations, analysts said.
($1 = 26,337.0000 dong)
