SeABank to sell stakes to Societe Generale

Hanoi (VNA) - The State Bank of Vietnam 's Governor has given the nod to the Southeast Asian Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SeABank) to sell 15 percent of its charter capital at maximum to its strategic foreign partner, France 's Societe Generale Bank.

The SBV Governor asked the involved sides to observe the regulations on transferring convertible bonds from SeABank shareholders to Societe
Generale, and the proportion of the latter's share ownership after bonds were converted to shares.

According to SeABank's latest report, the bank obtained pre-tax profit of 258 billion VND (15.6 million USD) in the first six months.

By the end of June, the bank had its total assets amounting close to 19,6 trillion VND (1.19 billion USD), total mobilised capital of 13.9 trillion VND (842 million USD) and total loans of 11.19 trillion VND (678 million USD). The ban registered a charter capital of 3 trillion VND (181 million USD).

As compared with the results in the same period last year, the bank's profit surged 30 percent, the total mobilised capital by 32 percent, the total loans by 129 percent and its charter capital was also doubled.

SeABank expects to increase its charter capital to 5 trillion VND, assets to 40 trillion VND, loans to 27 trillion VND, mobilised capital to 35 trillion VND in 2008. The bank plans to limit its overdue debts below 0.5 percent and earn profit of 852 billion VND this year.