Vietnam Techcombank sells shares to raise capital base 17.5 pct
HANOI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Vietnam's partly private Techcombank, 15-percent owned by HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) (0005.HK), has boosted its capital base by 17.5 percent to 2.96 trillion dong ($179 million) through the sale of new shares, the bank said on Monday.
The Hanoi-based unlisted bank has issued nearly 43.5 million new shares to existing shareholders under the first phase this year of expanding its registered capital, it said in a statement.
The registered capital determines the size of bank loans and deposits.
Last week the State Bank of Vietnam, or the central bank, said the government has allowed the London-based lender to raise its stake in Techcombank to 20 percent, the ceiling for foreign ownership in a domestic bank [ID:nHAN282256].
Techcombank, or Vietnam Technological and Commercial Bank, has yet to announce when it will complete the extra share sales to the biggest bank in Europe.
Techcombank is the country's seventh-largest lender by assets, with 51.82 trillion dong ($3.14 billion) at the end of June, up 31 percent from the end of 2007. ($1=16,497 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Kim Coghill)
