Vietnam's Vinaconex plans share debut as market rallies

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HANOI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Vietnamese construction firm Vinaconex said on Tuesday it would make its share debut next week in what will be the biggest share listing in Vietnam for seven months, following a recovery in the battered stock market.

Hanoi-based Vinaconex, valued at about $210 million, said it would list all its 150 million shares on the over-the-counter exchange Hanoi Securities Trading Center .HASTCI to begin trading on Sept 5.

Shares in Vinaconex, or Vietnam Construction and Import Export Corporation, were traded at between 20,000 dong and 26,000 dong ($1.2-$1.58) on the unofficial, unregulated markets, valuing the firm at between $180 million and $237 million.

That will make it the biggest market debut since Saigontel SGT.HM, which debuted in a $252 million listing on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange .VNI in January.

Vietnamese shares were the worst performers in the world in the first half, falling by almost two-thirds as soaring inflation, rising interest rates and global turmoil took a toll.

But shares have since rallied sharply, with the Hanoi Securities Trading Center's index closing 6.5 percent higher at 184.67 points on Tuesday, up 60 percent since the start of July.

Vinaconex, which has interests in a wide range of businesses from construction to real estate and financial investments, did not say at what price its shares were expected to start trading next Friday.

Vinaconex said it made a net profit of 280.4 trillion dong during the first half of this year, a rise of 57 percent from the same period last year.

Growth in Vietnam's construction sector has stalled this year due to tighter lending conditions, and a cooling in the once red hot real estate market. ($1=16,499 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Lincoln Feast)