They purchased the shares at VND10,000 ($0.44) each, nearly 80 percent lower than SSI’s current price at the HoSE.

The employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) allows company leaders and staff to purchase its own shares at a discount.

SSI Chairman Nguyen Duy Hung was the top buyer with a 900,000 shares, increasing his ownership from 0.506 percent to 0.637 percent.

Hung’s brother and son, who are also members of the board, bought another 900,000 shares.

This means Hung and his family members have spent VND18 billion to increase their stake in the company.

The company’s leaders bought 2.34 million shares in total, worth, nearly VND110 billion on the market.

SSI is set to issue over 219 million shares at the price of VND10,000 to existing shareholders, with those who own six shares allowed to buy two more.

This issue is set to increase the company’s charter capital by nearly 70 percent to VND11 trillion.

The company targets a pre-tax profit of VND1.87 trillion this year, up 20 percent from 2020.