28th Feb 2011 07:00
RNS
28 February 2010
Vietnam Infrastructure Limited
VNI invests in Saigon Infrastructure RE Investment JSC
Vietnam Infrastructure Limited (the "Company" or "VNI") (VNI.L), the first publicly traded fund to focus on infrastructure assets in Vietnam, today announces its investment in Saigon Infrastructure RE Investment JSC (SII), a new investment trust established with a strategic partner.
VNI has acquired over USD6 million in convertible bonds issued by SII.
SII was set up as a holding company for the operating assets of HCM City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII), one of Vietnam's leading infrastructure developers, based in Ho Chi Minh City and listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.
CII has a market cap of USD130 million, and 2010 net profits of USD19.3 million. The company's projects include toll roads, water treatment facilities and real estate, and the company boasts institutional shareholders that include Deutsche Bank, CitiGroup, Societe Generale, J.P Morgan, and Fullerton. The company has recently issued USD25 million convertible bonds and is in the process of issuing another USD15 million convertible bonds to Goldman Sachs. VNI began acquiring shares in CII in 2009 and currently holds a stake valued at USD9.2 million at 31 January 2011, or 3.9 percent of VNI's NAV.
SII's assets include stakes in the three most lucrative toll roads in Vietnam (all in Ho Chi Minh City), in the largest privately owned water treatment plant in Vietnam, and in property assets in Ho Chi Minh City.
CII, as SII's sponsor company, will transfer assets to SII at preferential rates. This includes a minimum guaranteed rate of return on the assets initially transferred to SII when it was established. If these assets do not meet the guaranteed rate of return after seven years, SII will hold a put option to sell back the asset at an amount that will achieve the minimum guaranteed rate of return.
"SII will benefit from the strong management team at CII, and the deal is further enhanced by a first right of refusal for VNI investment in all future SII projects. Given SII's strong project and deal pipeline, we feel this is an excellent means to gain exposure to the general infrastructure sector in fast-developing urban Vietnam," says Tony Hsun, managing director of VNI's investment manager.
Notes to Editors:
VinaCapital Group is a leading asset management, investment banking and real estate consulting firm with unrivalled experience in the Vietnamese market. VinaCapital Group was founded in 2003 and has grown from a single USD10 million fund to a diversified investment firm with USD1.8 billion in assets under management as of June 2010.
VinaCapital Investment Management Ltd manages three closed-end funds trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. These are:
·; Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF) is a diversified investment fund that has consistently been among the top performing Vietnam funds.
·; VinaLand Limited (VNL) is a real estate fund that was the top performing Vietnam investment fund in 2008.
·; Vietnam Infrastructure Limited (VNI) is a fund established in July 2007 as the first overseas fund to invest solely in Vietnam's infrastructure sector.
VinaCapital also co-manages the DFJ VinaCapital technology venture capital fund with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and owns a dominant stake in VinaSecurities JSC, a brokerage. More information is available at www.vinacapital.com.
More information on Vietnam Infrastructure Limited is available at www.vinacapital.com/vni.
Enquiries:
Michael L. Gray
VinaCapital Investment Management Limited
Investor Relations/Communications
+84 8 821 9930
Philip Secrett
Grant Thornton Corporate Finance, Nominated Adviser
+44 20 7383 5100
Hiroshi Funaki
LCF Edmond de Rothschild Securities, Broker
+44 20 7845 5960
David Benda / Hugh Jonathan
Numis Securities Limited, Broker
+44 (0)20 7260 1000
Alastair Hetherington
Financial Dynamics, Public Relations (Hong Kong)
+852 3716 9802
Andrew Walton
Financial Dynamics, Public Relations (London)
+44 2072697204
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Vietnam Infrastructure