(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co is in talks to become the first company in Vietnam to list its shares on a stock exchange overseas as the carrier, which controls more than 40% of the domestic airline market, seeks more funds after plans for billions of dollars in aircraft purchases.
'We've been approached by some foreign stock exchanges including London, Hong Kong and Singapore, which expressed their interest in our stock, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, VietJet's founder and chief executive officer, said in an interview in Hanoi on Sunday. Thao said she will meet exchange officials in New York later this week.
The plan for the 41tn-dong ($1.8bn) low-cost carrier comes amid the government's easing of rules to allow more foreign investment in one of the fastest-growing aviation markets. Hanoi-based VietJet, known for a marketing stunt featuring bikini-clad service crew, received shareholder approval in April to boost its foreign ownership limit to 49% from 30%.
'Listing overseas on big markets will help increase our access to more fund sources, boost the trading of our stock and expand the list of our investors, said Thao, a self-made billionaire. 'We don't want to hide our hope to become the first Vietnamese company to list shares overseas.
Shares of VietJet rose 0.8% to 127,800 dong at the close in Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest gain in more than two weeks. The stock has surged about 51% since it started trading three months ago, compared with a 6.4% increase in the Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index. The overseas listing plan would make VietJet the first Vietnamese company to officially trade overseas, according to Tran Anh Dao, deputy chief executive of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.
While VietJet has done well in Vietnam, it faces tougher competition against entrenched players such as low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd., as well as Cathay Pacific's regional unit, Cathay Dragon, as it expands in Asia, said Tyler Cheung, director of institutional clients at ACB Securities Co in Ho Chi Minh City.
'They have been able to accomplish something impressive in a relatively small period of time, Cheung said. 'The question is whether their business model and corporate strategy can transfer to a regional play. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd doesn't comment on individual companies, a spokeswoman said in an e-mail. Singapore Exchange Ltd declined in an e-mail to comment.
VietJet, which began operating six years ago, has 136 foreign investors who own 26% of the company, Thao, 46, said in April. She owns more than 60% of the airline directly and through holding companies and other entities, according to filings.
The increase in foreign ownership will need to be approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc because aviation is considered a restricted industry, with the limit currently capped at 30%. The airline has filed paperwork requesting the increase, Thao said.
Raising the limit isn't aimed at attracting a strategic investor, although the company is open to one, she said.
'We always wanted to be the pioneer, Thao said. 'We want to increase our stock value and to boost the ability to mobilise capital with more participation of investors.
Thao made her first million dollars at age 21 selling fax machines and latex rubber. Almost a quarter of a century later, the executive became Southeast Asia's first self-made woman billionaire with the listing of VietJet.
Thao engages in round-the-clock negotiations with plane and engine makers by herself, surviving on as little as three hours of sleep a night, said VietJet managing director Luu Duc Khanh. In May last year, she sealed an $11.3bn deal with Boeing Co to buy 100 737 Max 200 aircraft just in time to have it announced during then-president Barack Obama's visit to Vietnam.
The carrier agreed to buy 30 A320neos valued at $3.6bn at list price in 2015, adding to an order for as many as 100 Airbus planes a year earlier.
The budget airline forecasts profit will rise 36% this year from 2.5tn dong in 2016. VietJet expects to serve 17mn passengers this year, after carrying about 15 million travellers in 2016.
Its biggest competitor is Vietnam Airlines. The national carrier owns 70% of low-cost operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines Aviation JSC, with Qantas Airways Ltd holding the remaining 30%. Vietnam Airlines also owns Vietnam Air Services Co, known as VasCo.
VietJet and Vietnam Airlines each have a 42% share of the domestic aviation, said Brendan Sobie, a Singapore-based analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation. VietJet's share could rise to 50% within three years, he said in April.
'Vietnamese aviation is growing at a high rate, Thao said. 'When we open the door wider for foreign investors and create more opportunities for them, it also means we increase the chance for the local aviation industry and domestic stock market to expand and integrate faster into international aviation markets. With assistance from Nguyen Kieu Giang and Abhishek Vishnoi.
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