Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Private business conglomerate Vingroup is seekingshareholders’ approval for targets of 34 percent and 50 percent increases inrevenue and net profit, respectively, this year.

In the documents sent to shareholders priorto its annual shareholders meeting, expected on May 31 in Hanoi, the board seta total revenue target of 120 trillion VND (5.3 billion USD) for the year, anda net profit of 8.5 trillion VND.

In the first quarter, the company earned 29.1trillion VND in revenue and over 1 trillion VND in net profit, up 84 percentand 70 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Despite the news, Vingroup’s stock declinedby nearly 7 percent on May 21 to close at 114,400 VND (5.02 USD) per share onthe Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

Vingroup is also planning a big dividendwith a total rate of 21 percent, of which a 10 percent will be paid by stocksfor 2017’s business results and another 11 percent will be paid in cash, beingextracted from accumulative net profits as of the end of the first quarter of2018. Total payment value will be more than 5.54 trillion VND, expected to bepaid in the second quarter of 2018.

In addition, the board of directors willalso present to the shareholders a plan to lift the foreign ownership limit to49 percent after removing some divisions of the company.

Shareholders will authorise the board toreview and make a list of restricted business lines, as well as carry out thenecessary procedures to change the corporate business registration.

Foreigners currently hold about 10.2 percentof Vingroup’s capital according to data on the financial website vietstock.vnas of December 31, 2016.

This year, VIC is planning to intensify itsoperations in all major fields including real estate, travel and entertainment,retail, healthcare, education and agriculture. At the same time, the companywill also make further investment in the automobile industry with the ‘Vinfast’brand.

The company will strengthen its presence inprovinces nationwide, especially in the development of Vinmart and Vinmartretail chains. Regarding the quality of services, the company is still aimingfor international five star standards, upgrading the infrastructure of theVinpearl entertainment system and the Vinmec hospital system, enhancing thetraining quality of Vinschool and Vinuni.

In 2017, consolidated revenue of VICreached 89.3 trillion VND, up 55 percent year-on-year, net profit touched 5.6trillion VND, up 27 percent over the previous year. Earning per share (EPS) was1,816 VND.-VNA