On the evening of November 1, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) announced the cancellation of a sale involving 2,610,349 VIB shares by Le Thi Hue, an individual associated with Mr. Dang Khac Vy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB). The transaction, originally conducted on October 31, 2024, was nullified due to a lack of required public disclosure and advance reporting.
HOSE’s announcement clarified that, based on monitoring results and guidance from the State Securities Commission via Official Dispatch No.7442/UBCK-TT dated November 1, 2024, the exchange decided to cancel the sale due to the absence of necessary disclosure and reporting.
By the end of the November 1 trading session, VIB shares had fallen by 0.5 percent, closing at VND18,850 per share.
Earlier, on October 29, foreign investors sold 300 million VIB shares with a net value of VND5.4 trillion, representing over 10 percent of the bank’s charter capital. On the same day, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) confirmed it had sold about 10 percent of its holdings in VIB through HOSE. This transaction was carried out on October 29, with settlement expected by October 31, generating approximately 320 million Australian dollars (equivalent to VND5.314 trillion).
This was not the first major transaction by foreign investors; on September 24, they also sold over 148 million VIB shares, totaling VND2.66 trillion, or nearly 5 percent of the bank’s charter capital, yielding around VND2.75 trillion.
These foreign sell-offs are believed to stem from a resolution passed at VIB’s extraordinary shareholders' meeting in June 2024, which approved a reduction in the foreign ownership cap from 20.5 percent to 4.99 percent. This adjustment has compelled foreign investors to divest over 300 million shares to comply with the new ownership limit.
The foreign ownership reduction aligns with VIB’s strategy to restructure its shareholder base, optimize capital management, and maintain long-term stability. Under current regulations, foreign investors are permitted to sell shares to reduce their holdings to the new 4.99 percent threshold, except in special cases such as receiving stock dividends or participating in additional share issuances by the bank.
