Sacombank to depository: Foreign ownership cap confusion will hit investor sentiment

The Ho Chi Minh City-based lender said in a release Friday that foreign ownership cap in it has stayed unchanged at 23.63468% for years and the VSD recently made a mistake in saying it has been increased to 30%.

News reports on February 10 said the cap in Sacombank had been increased to 30%, but the bank said it had not received any such notification from authorities.

Sacombank on Friday asked the VSD to explain to the public why there was such confusion after repeatedly informing it for years the cap was 23.6%.

The sudden change in the cap would have a negative impact on the expectations of investors, especially foreign funds who might think it lacks the capability to handle key information, it said.

It would work with relevant agencies to clarify things, it promised.

In November last year foreign investors bought millions of shares of the bank every day, and by the end of that month foreign ownership had gone past 23.6%.

As of Feb. 9 foreigners owned 30%.

VSD CEO Duong Van Thanh told VnExpress Thursday that the organization in May 2021 has made a mistake in pushing up the ownership cap for Sacombank when the decision was meant for Vietinbank.

But in re-examination VSD concluded that it is legally correct for Sacombank’s foreign ownership cap to be at 30%, and VSD has kept it that way since.

Thanh affirmed that there has never been any order from authorities for the bank to keep the cap at 23.6%.