Bamboo Airways’ debt of 3,500 billion has been supplemented with collateral, which is Mr. Tram Be’s outstanding real estate, which can be handled this year.
This information was shared by Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, General Director of Saigon Thuong Tin Bank (Sacombank) at the annual shareholders’ meeting on the morning of April 26.
At the congress, many shareholders asked questions about outstanding loans to businesses, especially at Bamboo Airways – the airline that the bank wants to participate in to support restructuring.
General Director of Sacombank informed that Bamboo Airways’ outstanding debt at the bank as of April 25 remained 3,583 billion and was in group 1 (qualified debt). Previously, the debt was secured by Bamboo shares and assets of FLC Group. But after a new group of shareholders joined Bamboo, the bank convinced them to add more collateral in real estate.
Accordingly, Bamboo Airways’ current outstanding debt is 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.
General Director of Sacombank, Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem at the annual shareholders’ meeting on the morning of April 26. Image: Sacombank.
At the congress, Sacombank Chairman, Mr. Duong Cong Minh, gave the example of many debts of large enterprises at Sacombank, which were facilitated and then recovered.
“When we entered Dong Tam, they were in debt of nearly 10,000 billion and they were unable to repay the debt. All assets could not be guaranteed for transactions. We, with the position of business owners, were strong at that time. Boldly proposed to the bank’s board of directors the policy of using debt to raise debt,” Mr. Minh recounted. Accordingly, Sacombank continued to lend to Dong Tam so they can complete the project’s legal procedures and have assets to sell. Currently, they have almost paid off all their debt.
“Or like Nam A Bank, they also borrowed from us to buy shares in Eximbank. We also lent them money to complete real estate projects, then they sold it and had the money to return to us.” , Mr. Minh told shareholders.
At the meeting, shareholders asked more questions about some of LDG’s debts after the leader’s arrest, along with the debt settlement progress of Phong Phu Industrial Park.
Regarding the debt of Phong Phu Industrial Park, Sacombank leaders said the principal debt is 5,134 billion and the expected interest is 2,700 billion. Total outstanding capital is about 7,900 billion. After 18 auctions, Sacombank successfully auctioned and collected part of the debt. However, the area of secured assets includes the portion that has not yet been compensated for clearance. Therefore, after a successful auction of the debt status, there must still be time for the debt buyer to complete the legal process. Therefore, for the remaining debt, Sacombank said it has given its partners 2 years to repay.
As for LDG Joint Stock Company (an enterprise whose leader was arrested), this unit has an outstanding debt as of April 24, 2024 at Sacombank of 690 billion and is a group 1 debt, and has made provisions according to regulations. determined. The collateral assets, according to Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, are real estate of very high value.
The dividend plan after 8 years of not paying is also an issue of concern at the congress. For many years, Sacombank has been in the process of restructuring, so according to regulations, it is not allowed to pay dividends.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Cuc, 71 years old, who claims to be a veteran shareholder who has followed Sacombank since it was still a credit cooperative, said she is looking forward to the State Bank’s early approval of the restructuring project. She said “she has not sold a single share of STB” and hopes that shareholders, especially elderly people like herself, will enjoy the benefits of the money they have spent for many years.
The only problem that has prevented Sacombank from “finishing” its restructuring, according to the bank’s leaders, is due to Mr. Tram Be’s debt.
Regarding the restructuring of Sacombank after the merger, the bank’s General Director said that it has been submitted to the State Bank for over 6 months. The State Bank basically agrees on the policy according to the plan proposed by Sacombank, but the management agency also needs time to review it to submit to the Prime Minister for final approval.
“I believe that this plan will be approved this year. From there, we will auction Mr. Tram Be’s shares publicly on the principle of transparency, as well as ensuring the ability to collect debt for bank,” Ms. Diem shared.
Sacombank’s Chairman also shared the expectation that the bank will restructure successfully in 2024. He added that 100% of debts will be liquidated by the bank in an open and transparent manner. He said he and those involved did not participate in buying any debt, nor did they expect to make any profit from these activities.
Looking back at the restructuring journey, Mr. Duong Cong Minh shared that high accrued interest caused the bank to have negative equity. A series of other indicators were all very low. If according to legal regulations, Sacombank should have become one of the 5 zero-dollar banks at that time, meaning that shareholders were considered to have lost all their capital. “At that time, the State Bank allowed restructuring, which meant that it favored us and allowed shareholders to retain their assets,” Mr. Minh shared.
After 7 years of restructuring, Sacombank now has equity capital of VND 45,000 billion. Compared to the beginning of the restructuring, total assets increased from 355,000 billion to 674,000 billion, an increase of 89%. Outstanding credit debt increased from VND 222,000 billion to VND 482,000 billion. The total ratio of bad debt and outstanding assets from 94,000 billion on outstanding debt of 222,000 billion, meaning the bad debt ratio of 42% to only 6.9%. Non-profitable assets of 113,000 billion VND are now 70,000 billion VND.
This year, Sacombank targets profit growth of 10%. This target, according to Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, is low compared to other banks, however, it is consistent with the context in which banks spend resources on restructuring.
In addition, the bank targets total assets by the end of this year to reach VND 724,100 billion, an increase of 10%. Mobilized capital increased by 10% to VND 636,600 billion. Total outstanding credit is expected to increase by 11% to VND 535,800 billion. Bad debt ratio is below 2%.