Hong Phuc
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| Customers transact with Sacombank staff in this file photo. Shareholders of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, or Sacombank, approved the bank’s merger with Southern Bank on March 25 – Photo: TL |
At the meeting that attracted over 700 shareholders holding 77.78% voting rights, some shareholders objected to the plan before the vote.
A shareholder said that he disagreed with the scheme presented by the board of directors. In terms of banking structure, Southern Bank could benefit while Sacombank shareholders would get nothing.
In terms of network, Southern Bank has branches where Sacombank is already present. In addition, it would be a great burden for Sacombank to lead a smaller lender and Sacombank would grow stronger without its merger with Southern Bank, he said.
A representative of an institutional investor said Southern Bank is struggling with a high ratio of bad debt, so it would erode the competitiveness of the merged institution. As there are many better banks available for merger, Sacombank should not merge with Southern Bank laced faced with bad debt and distressed assets.
Another shareholder who invested VND500 million in Sacombank shares in 1994 expressed concerns over bonus shares and dividend policies and requested the issues must be clarified before the merger.
“We are small shareholders, so our suggestions seem to be nonsense to the board… Besides, we wonder whether the board of directors has already looked into issues involving the efficiency of the merged bank,” she said.
Sacombank chairman Kieu Huu Dung said it would take a lot time to get the merger plan done. “Shareholders should understand and share with the board…We only ask shareholders at the meeting for approval. After approval is given, we will map out a merger project with specific steps. The detailed project will be presented to shareholders at another meeting,” Dung said.
Nguyen Van Dung, deputy director of the central bank’s HCMC branch, said the merger between the two lenders was in line with the Government’s bank restructuring scheme.
Credit institutions will have to follow the scheme regardless of scale, operation status or classification. Some banks would be merged or acquired but the important thing is that banks should choose the most suitable solution, Dung said.
This year, Sacombank targets total assets at VND183 trillion, up 14% against 2013. Its mobilization is expected to rise 14% at VND160.5 trillion while credit would rise 13% to VND124.6 trillion.
The bank expects to obtain VND3 trillion in pre-tax profit, a 6% increase, and pay dividend of 10-12% for shareholders.
Đăng ký: VietNam News