Japanese insurer Sumitomo Life has registered to buy more than 41.4 million shares of local insurer insurance-finance-banking group Bao Viet Holdings (BVH).

Insurance-finance-banking group Bao Viet (BVH)'s head office in Hanoi
(Photo: vietnambiz.vn) 

Sumitomo currently owns more than 122.5 million BVH shares, equivalent to 17.48 percent of the total outstanding voting shares of Bao Viet Holdings.

If the transaction is successful, Sumitomo will raise its total ownership in BVH to nearly 164 million shares, equivalent to 22.09 percent of the company’s capital.

Earlier, BVH approved a private placement of more than 41 million shares to increase its charter capital. These shares will be restricted for transfer within one year from the date of completion of the offering.

About 2.5 trillion VND from the proceeds will be used to increase capital for BVH’s member units, 200 billion VND to invest in information technology infrastructure and the rest to supplement working capital.

On the stock market, BVH has decreased sharply by 23 percent since the beginning of this year, from 87,800 VND to 68,000 VND per share.