Vietnam airline Bamboo Airways Joint Stock Company is set to list at home later this year and hopes the share sale will tip its market capitalization to more than $2.7 billion.
The company hopes to sell up to 105 million shares no later than the third quarter. The timing of the deal is based on Bamboo Airways' expectations of an easing of travel restrictions by June or July.
The airline, established in 2019, will list on either the Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City stock exchanges. The company is likely to set an initial share price of around 60,000 dong ($2.6) a share, according to Bamboo Airways chairperson Trinh Van Quyet.
Bamboo Airways wanted to go public last year. But it postponed that plan as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With the pandemic now mostly contained in the country, Bamboo Airways said market conditions were now "very favorable."
Quyet expected the government to begin lifting bans on commercial international flights later this summer. He said the company would then immediately begin flights to the U.S. and elsewhere.
The Vietnam government is expected to take a cautious approach to reopening - and impose strict conditions. In December, Vietnam halted all international commercial flights after the nation's flag carrier Vietnam Airlines was found to have violated quarantine rules. It said the violation led to Vietnam's first local case in almost three months.
While Bamboo Airways is optimistic about its stock market prospects, some analysts are worried about its timing. Analysts at SSI Security Corp. said the listing would be "tricky" given the reluctance of some market participants to bet on short-term growth for airlines.
Quyet dismissed those concerns. He expected a big "boom" in the aviation industry given the rapid international vaccine rollout. Bamboo Airways anticipates a rise in demand and is planning to increase its fleet from 22 to 40 planes before the end of the year.
