PetroVietnam Gas sets date for IPO

PetroVietnam Gas Corporation, one of the three leading affiliates of State-owned oil giant PetroVietnam, plans to auction nearly 95 million shares in its initial public offering next month on the HCM City Stock Exchange, the company announced.

The IPO, at a starting price of VND31,000 ($1.59) per share, represents a sale of 5 per cent of PetroVietnam Gas’s equity of over VND18.9 trillion (US$969.2 million).

Shares representing another 20 per cent would be offered to strategic investors, and as many as 20 possible investors had expressed interest, with 14 short-listed, said PetroVietnam chairman Dinh La Thang.

An investment in PetroVietnam Gas was not merely an investment in a single company but in the entire gas industry, he said.

“The reference price was set with the aim of finding ‘gold’ investors who will commit to the long-term interest of the company and the industry,” he said.

PetroVietnam was restructuring towards higher degrees of specialisation, and PetroVietnam Gas would be responsible for the gas-related operations, ensuring its leadership position in the industry.

PetroVietnam Gas’s core business lines include exploiting, processing, transporting, and distributing gas products. Dry gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), its two primary products, accounted for around 99 per cent of the nation’s total gas output.

PetroVietnam Gas also supplies fuel to generate 40 per cent of the nation’s electrical output, 35 per cent of its fertiliser and 70 per cent of LPG demand nationawide.

Viet Capital Securities Co general director To Hai said gas consumption as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) currently stood at just 1.2 per cent and had room for growth in the future.

PetroVietnam Gas plans to invest more than VND66 trillion ($3.4 billion) in infrastructure and expanding its gas distribution network through 2015. It also projects to introduce new liquefied natural gas (LNG) and ethane to the market in 2013.

The company reported first-half earnings of VND14.24 trillion ($730.2 million), an increase of 30 per cent over the same period a year ago, and representing 54 per cent of its revenue target for the year. Net profit increased by 42 per cent to VND2 trillion ($102.6 million), a full 96 per cent of the year’s target.

The company now estimated revenues of VND31.3 trillion ($1.6 billion) this year and a profit of nearly VND3.4 trillion ($173.1 million).

In light of a Government-approved roadmap allowing for gas prices to rise by 35 per cent in March of next year, and 4 per cent per year over the next four years, PetroVietnam Gas expects annual revenue growth of 18-20 per cent during 2011-15. — VNS

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