"Scrutinizing" bank shareholders owning 1% or more

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Disclosing shareholders owning 1% or more of the charter capital helps control cross-ownership. Photo: ST

According to the law, effective from July 1, 2024, shareholders owning 1% or more of the charter capital of credit institutions must provide the institution with personal information, information about related persons, and details on the number and percentage of shares owned.

Credit institutions must list and store this information at their headquarters, on their websites, and submit written reports to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Experts believe this disclosure is a necessary measure to control cross-ownership.

Financial and banking expert Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu said that publishing and reducing shareholder ownership percentages will diversify the shareholder structure, limit the dominance and takeover of banks, and thereby make the credit institution system more transparent and secure.

As a result, since mid-July, many banks have requested shareholders to provide information and have since disclosed lists of shareholders owning 1% or more of the shares.

At MSB, according to publicly disclosed information, the bank has 11 shareholders owning 1% or more of the charter capital. Among them, VNPT is the strategic shareholder with the highest shareholding, holding nearly 121 million shares, equivalent to 6.05% of the charter capital. However, according to the recently approved VNPT restructuring plan, VNPT will divest from MSB by the end of 2025.

The next largest shareholders are three enterprises within the ROX Group ecosystem (formerly TNG Holdings), holding nearly 5.4% of MSB’s charter capital, including ROX Key Holdings Joint Stock Company, TNL Asset Investment and Leasing Joint Stock Company, and ROX Cons Construction Investment Joint Stock Company. Additionally, other enterprises such as Bai Dai Resort Company Limited hold 4.96%, Hanoi Green Technology City Company Limited holds 4.97%, and Hanoi - Dai Tu Industrial Zone Construction and Business Company holds 4.98%.

Among foreign shareholders, Buenavista Holdings Fund holds 2.02% of MSB's shares. Among individual investors, only Mr. Nilesh Ratilal Banglorewala, a former division director at MSB, holds 3.32% of the bank's charter capital.

At VPBank, disclosed information shows the bank has a total of 13 individual shareholders (holding more than 40.8% of the bank's shares) and 4 institutional shareholders owning nearly 5.1 billion shares, accounting for more than 64% of the bank's charter capital. Among individuals, Mr. Ngo Chi Dung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VPBank, holds 4.14% of the shares, but persons related to Mr. Dung hold more than 2.34 billion shares, accounting for 29.5% of the charter capital.

Additionally, the 4 institutional shareholders at VPBank include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a strategic shareholder holding more than 1.19 billion shares, equivalent to 15% of the charter capital. The other shareholders are DIERA Joint Stock Company, Composite Capital Master Fund, and Vietnam Enterprise Investments, holding 4.4%, 2.73%, and 1.28% of the charter capital, respectively.

MB Bank has only 2 shareholders holding more than 1% of the shares, including Prudential Vietnam, which holds more than 65.7 million shares, accounting for 1.24% of the charter capital, and a related person holding 0.02% of the charter capital. The second shareholder is the Pyn Elite Fund (Non-Ucits) with more than 86.3 million shares, accounting for 1.63% of the charter capital.

At LPBank, VNPost holds nearly 167.2 million shares, corresponding to 6.54% of the bank's charter capital. The other shareholder is Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy, currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of LPBank, holding nearly 2.77% of the shares.

At HDBank, no individual owns more than 1% of the charter capital. Two institutional shareholders, Baillie Gifford Pacific Fund and Pyn Elite Fund (Non-Ucits), hold 64.15 million shares (2.19% of the charter capital) and 64.47 million shares (2.2%), respectively. Apart from these two foreign funds, another major shareholder, Sovico Joint Stock Company, holds 14.27% of HDBank's charter capital.

At Eximbank, Gelex Group Joint Stock Company is currently the largest shareholder, holding more than 85.5 million shares (equivalent to 4.9% of the charter capital). This is followed by VIX Securities Joint Stock Company, holding 3.58%, and Thang Phuong Joint Stock Company, holding 3.07% of the capital. Additionally, there are two individual investors holding 1.03% and 1.12% of the shares, respectively.

At OCB, the disclosed information shows a significant number of shareholders holding 1% or more of the charter capital, including 7 individual shareholders and 13 institutional shareholders. Among them, the largest institutional shareholder is Aozora Bank (Japan), with more than 308 million shares, accounting for 15% of the charter capital. The largest individual shareholder is Mr. Trinh Van Tuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OCB, holding more than 4.4% of the shares, but related persons to Mr. Tuan hold nearly 15.5% of OCB's charter capital.

However, if combined, the shares of shareholders and their related persons, the TQA Investment Co., Ltd., represented by Ms. Cao Thi Que Anh (Mr. Trinh Van Tuan’s wife), holds nearly 19.8% of the charter capital. Following this, Mr. Trinh Van Tuan's wife and three daughters, and their related persons each hold over 19% of the charter capital at OCB.