Vietnam LPG importer shrs drop 13 pct on debut

(For an expanded IPO diary, please click on <VN/IPOMENU>) HANOI, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Shares of Anpha Petrol ASP.HM, which imports and distributes about 10 percent of Vietnam's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand, lost 13 percent on their first day of trading on Friday.

The shares closed at 43,500 dong ($2.71) each, 13 percent lower than the starting price of 50,000 dong, Ho Chi Minh Stock Market .VNI data showed.

Friday's closing prices put Anpha Petrol's value at about $25.3 million.

The company, which imports and sells about 7,000 tonnes of LPG per month, sold a 5.5 percent stake to Japanese trader Sojitz Corp (2768.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last year. It also inked a deal with Sojitz for long-term contracts for LPG supply, company officials have said.

State-run Vietindebank owns a 10-percent stake in Anpha.

Anpha Petrol, which had total assets of about $36 million at the end of 2007, said its revenues in 2007 nearly quadrupled from 2006 to 1.29 trillion dong ($81 million), while profit rose more than eight times to 18 billion dong ($1.1 million).

The company, which competes against Petrolimex Gas PGC.HM and Petrovietnam Gas in the fast-growing market for LPG, operates four LPG tankers and seven LPG depots, including a 1,800-tonne LPG storage facility in the northern port city of Haiphong.

($1=16,076 dong)

(Reporting by Nguyen Nhat Lam; Editing by Valerie Lee)