The airline’s 17.77 million treasury shares, or 3.28 percent of its charter capital, was bought in August 2019 for VND132,063 ($5.7) per share.

Vietjet said it would negotiate the price with the buyer. The deal would help restructure its capital and ensure profit growth, the carrier said.

The airline’s VJC share price has dropped nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the year to VND101,000 at the time of publishing. At this price the deal could be valued at VND1.79 trillion ($77.3 million).

Vietjet’s revenue in the first six months fell 50 percent year-on-year to VND12.2 trillion as most flights were suspended as part of efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It has targeted a pre-tax profit of VND100 billion for this year, a drop of 98 percent from last year, due to the pandemic impacts.

Its passenger numbers are set to fall 19 percent year-on-year to 20.2 million, and flights by 15 percent to 118,000.