Bidding in $600 mln Vietcombank IPO starts-exchange

HANOI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Bidding for shares in state-run Vietcombank, Vietnam's largest firm to conduct an initial public offering, started on Wednesday as scheduled and results could be ready by Thursday, a stock exchange official said.

The $600 million IPO of the Hanoi-based Vietcombank, or the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, is eagerly awaited by investors and analysts, who expect the planned listings of four state-owned banks to boost capital markets in communist-ruled Vietnam.

Nearly 9,500 investors, including 207 foreign individuals and 45 foreign institutions, have been seeking to buy a combined 122.2 million shares in Vietnam's fourth-largest lender, which handles the majority of the country's foreign trade payments.

A total of 97.5 million shares, or 6.5 percent of the company, is for sale at a starting price set by the company at 100,000 dong ($6.2) a share.

At that price, the bank is valued at $9.3 billion, the largest company to have so far offered shares to the public.

"The auction has started, staff are now putting bids by investors in the system and we expect all the work to be completed within today with results announced by tomorrow," the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange .VNI official told Reuters.

Vietnam often opens opportunity for investors to submit bids at securities companies days before the official auction day of a major firm as inserting bidding prices into the system could drag on for days.

Companies in Vietnam first conduct their IPO separately from their share debut which often comes a while later.

Vietcombank plans to list on the Ho Chi Minh City's exchange by the end of the first quarter next year at the earliest and has said it will also seek a listing in Hong Kong or Singapore in 2009.

Investors said shares in Sacombank STB.HM and Asia Commercial Bank ACB.HN, Vietnam's two listed banks, could rise if Vietcombank shares fetch above $6.2 each.

Vietcombank said its net profit this year would hit 1.85 trillion dong on revenue of 5 trillion dong, down 5.3 percent from 2006.

Its total assets at the end of September have risen 11 percent from end of 2006 to 186 trillion dong ($11.5 billion) and are expected to grow to 200.9 trillion dong by the year end.

The lender said its net profit would recover next year and jump more than 40 percent to 2.6 trillion dong as revenues would rise 26 percent in 2008. ($1=16,112 dong) (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Lincoln Feast)