Mr. Duong Cong Minh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sacombank, explains why Sacombank has not paid dividends for 9 consecutive years – Photo: PHUONG QUANYEN
At the 2024 annual shareholders’ meeting held on April 26, Mr. Duong Cong Minh, chairman of Sacombank’s board of directors, responded to this issue.
Mr. Minh said that Sacombank must return its charter capital and reduce bad debt to less than 3% before it is eligible to pay dividends.
“According to legal regulations, the charter capital must be returned for successful restructuring. We have finished handling Phong Phu Industrial Park and sold the debt. They have paid half of the debt purchase amount.
Currently, the important thing is to return charter capital and handle bad debts. The debt related to Mr. Tram Be must wait for the Government’s approval. Surely this year will be completed. If capital is recovered, Sacombank will complete restructuring this year,” Mr. Duong Cong Minh said.
Speaking more about this issue, Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, standing vice chairman of the board of directors and general director of Sacombank, said that the bank is implementing a post-merger restructuring project. The last remaining problem concerns the plan to handle Mr. Tram Be’s shares.
Sacombank has submitted a detailed plan to the State Bank and is awaiting approval. Resources to pay dividends are ready, with undistributed profits up to nearly 18,400 billion VND, equivalent to nearly 100% of charter capital and will continue to increase in the near future. Therefore, shareholders’ rights are still guaranteed.
Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, Standing Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Sacombank – Photo: PHUONG QUANYEN
“The Board of Directors very much understands the wishes of shareholders and is working very hard with the State Bank to receive dividends. Although dividends have not yet been paid, the market price of Sacombank’s STB shares has grown. quite strong in recent times, which also partly compensates shareholders,” Ms. Diem said.
At the meeting, many shareholders also asked questions about outstanding debt at Bamboo Airways.
General Director of Sacombank informed that Bamboo Airways’ outstanding debt at the bank as of April 25 remained 3,583 billion VND and was in group 1 (qualified debt). Previously, the debt was secured by Bamboo Airways shares and assets of FLC Group. But after a new group of shareholders joined Bamboo Airways, the bank convinced them to add more collateral in real estate.
Therefore, Bamboo Airways’ outstanding debt is currently guaranteed by 100% of new real estate, plus old real estate and previously mortgaged shares.
“Certainly Bamboo Airways’ loan cannot lose capital. The collateral we receive is property in Ho Chi Minh City and has high value and liquidity,” Ms. Diem said.
As for LDG Joint Stock Company (an enterprise whose leader has just been arrested), the outstanding debt as of April 24, 2024 at Sacombank is 690 billion VND and belongs to debt group 1. The bank has made provisions in accordance with regulations. determined. The collateral assets, according to Ms. Diem, are very high value real estate.
At the meeting, shareholders also questioned why Sacombank set its 2024 profit plan too low. Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem said this target is low compared to other banks, but is consistent with the context in which the bank spends resources on restructuring.
“Sacombank’s strategy is safe and sustainable development. The plan is built on caution and low loan capital forecast.
Because credit for the entire industry in the first quarter only increased by 0.26%, bad debt risks also increased. Therefore, Sacombank’s orientation is to accompany customers to provide capital to the market.
At the same time, Sacombank also continues to set up risk provisions, expected to set aside 4,300 billion VND in 2024,” Ms. Diem added.
