Thursday, May 16, 2002
First Joint Venture Fund Awaits Regulator Licence In Vietnam
Hanoi, May 15: British firm Dragon Capital and Vietnam's Sacombank have applied to Vietnam's stock market regulator to set up a joint-venture investment fund, the first of its kind in Vietnam. An executive at Dragon Capital, which already runs a Vietnam investment fund said his firm and Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (Sacombank) would invest in securities. "We are waiting for a licence and would like to have it from only one authority body," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under current regulations the fund could require two licences. A joint venture needs a licence from the planning and investment ministry, while an investment fund management company needs one from the State Securities Commission (SSC). "It is up to the government to decide which organ would license the joint-venture," the official said. A Dragon Capital report said the Viet-Fund venture would have registered capital of five billion dong ($328,235) to direct the fund, and would be capitalised at 100 billion dong ($6.56 million) during its first three years. Sacombank would hold a 51 per cent stake and Dragon Capital the remainder. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Sacombank has a registered capital of 191 billion dong ($12.54 million). Dragon Capital is the main foreign investor in Vietnam's stock market through a Dublin-listed investment fund, Vietnam Enterprise Investment Ltd (VEIL), and direct holdings in listed and unlisted firms. On Tuesday, Lam Dao Thao, Sacombank's general director, said the central State Bank of Vietnam had agreed in Principle for Sacombank to go ahead in setting up the joint-venture, but he had declined to name the partner. The SSC has said it would submit for government approval this month amendments to a decree which would allow foreign investment funds to operate in Vietnam on a trial basis, a move to boost trade on the fledgling stock market. The market in Ho Chi Minh City, communist-ruled Vietnam's first, began trading in July 2000 and now has 17 shares listed. - Reuters
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