Taiwan's Taya Electric Wire and Cable will launch an initial public offering (IPO) worth about 2.3 million dollars in Vietnam next month, becoming the first foreign firm to list in the country, officials said on Monday. "We hope that we are the pioneer in this move," said an official from Taya Electric Wire and Cable Co "We will offer shares (equal) to 20 percent of our registered capital (182 billion dong), which is roughly 36 billion dong (2.3 million dollars)," the official said.
"At present we are in the process of defining the share's value. According to our agenda, we expect to launch the IPO in late April."
Five other firms have received government approval to do so.
Vietnamese securities officials were unavailable for comment on Monday.
Taya (Vietnam) was launched in 1995 as part of the then Taiwan government's "advance south" policy of encouraging companies to invest in countries other than China so as not to concentrate too much business activity in its mainland rival, which threatens to retake Taiwan, by force if necessary.
The English language weekly Vietnam Investment Review said the first Taya factory in the southern province of Dong Nai employs more than 400 people.
A second factory has just begun operating in the northern province of Hai Duong, it said, without giving details.
The shares will be listed in the country's two stock exchanges, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam's second stock exchange opened in Hanoi on March 8, offering shares in state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) as well as bonds and other financial instruments.
The Ho Chi Minh City market has operated since July 2000 but it has failed to take off in any significant way. According to official figures, Vietnam now has more than 2,400 SOEs but only 27 of them are listed on Ho Chi Minh City's exchange.
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