Sacombank target of first banking takeover bid in Vietnam

A hostile takeover is brewing as Eximbank leads other shareholders of Sacombank in demanding a new management board.

While the outcome of this effort is still to be seen, Sacombank is facing the risk of losing control to another bank has already raised a lot of questions and concerns.

Eximbank, which owns 9.7 percent of Sacombank after buying a stake from ANZ in January, claims that it now represents shareholders with a combined 51 percent of Sacombank stock. As such, it is demanding a new board, saying there has been a major change in the shareholder structure after Dragon Capital, ANZ and REE exited Sacombank.

The shareholders represented by Eximbank are also asking Sacombank to raise its 2012 profit target by at least 15 percent to VND4.025 trillion or US$193 million.

“Our group of shareholders is holding 51 percent so we ask for five members on the management board,” said Eximbank Chairman Le Hung Dung. “The chairman of the management board will be voted in by the new board, and we’ll see what happens.”

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