Hanoi (VNA) - There would be more auctions of shares from oil and gas companies in the secꦕond half of 2016 under the directives of the Government on equitisation of State-owned eꦍnterprises.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung told the first half meeting of the PetroVietnam Group (PVN) last week that the group should continue to promote the restructuring of enterprises and investment activities. In the last half of 2016, there will be the initial public offering (IPO) of three big names in the oil and gas industry including PetroVietnam Power Company (PV Power), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) and Binh Son Refinery (BSR). PV Power which was the second largest electricity producer in Vietnam after the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), would hold an IPO in October, then have the first general assembly, and business registration as a joint-stock company in December of this year. After equitisation, PVN would hold 75 percent stakes in PV Power. In the first half, PV Power earned a revenue of 12.3 trillion VND and a profit after tax of 897 billion VND, which was 149 percent higher than its plan. The firm said it had so far contributed 563 billion VND to the State budget this year. Meanwhile, PV Oil, the No 2 in petroleum market, after Petrolimex, planned its IPO in the fourth quarter. It was now looking for a foreign partner to sell stakes in the upcoming IPO. The Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co (BSR), which operates and manages Dung Quat Oil Refinery, was also planning its IPO in late 2016. Another firm of PVN, the PetroVietnam Machinery and Technology JSC (PVMachino), a member of the Power Corporation Oil and gas (PV Power), was also expected to be listed as soon as possible as per the shareholders’ desire for nearly six years. The firm’s leaders used to tell shareholders that they would list the shares when the firm got better business results. Last year PV machine reported sales of 664 billion VND and the profit of 15.6 billion VND, 11 percent and 4 percent higher, respectively, than planned. Therefore, many shareholders suggested that it was time for the stock to be listed. On July 12, Binh Son Refinery (BSR) offered 7.97 million shares, equivalent to 45.53 percent of the charter capital in PetroVietnam Building and Commercial JSC (PV Building), a member of the PetroVietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN). After the auction, 2.3 million shares or 29 percent of the shares offered were sold. Tran Ngoc Nguyen, CEO of the BSR said, the firm would reduce its ownership from 96.53 percent to 51 percent so that PV Building could be listed on the stock market as a public company. Thus, most likely, BRS would continue to sell about 5.7 million PV Building shares after the auction. PV Building, with a charter capital of 175 billion VND, produced packaging and plastic products, housing management services as well as restaurants and accommodation that mainly served the Dung Quat Oil Refinery in Quang Ngai Province. In 2015, PV Building achieved a net profit of 10.8 billion VND and planned a growth of 30 percent annually in the future.-VNA