Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign investors can now acquire more than 49percent of shares, the previous limit on foreign ownership, in PetroVietnamFertilizer and Chemicals Corporation (PVFCCo), the operator of Phu Myfertilizer plant. 

The decision was approved at the PVFCCo’s annual shareholder meeting inthe southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on April 26, following theState-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)’s plan to reduce its stakein the PVFCCo to less than 51 percent by 2020.

PetroVietnam, or PVN, are working to equitise several subsidiaries anddivest from a dozen of others at the same time, said Dinh Van Son from thegroup’s Members’ Council.

The next phase will be to seek strategic investors for these companiesto enable them to successfully restructure; therefore, PVN will closelycoordinate with the PVFCCo and its shareholders to fast-track the divestment,he noted.

By the end of 2017, PVN owned 59.58 percent of shares in PVFCCo whileforeign investors held a combined 20.44 percent. The firm’s shareholders agreedto remove the limit of foreign ownership to encourage strategic investors tostep in.

To implement the decision, the PVFCCo will have to withdraw from 3 sectorssubject to foreign ownership restrictions, including loading and unloading ofgoods, road freight transport, and inland waterway transport.

This move is part of the company’s plan to restructure from 2016 –2020, in which it will shift focus onto the core business areas of producingand trading fertilizers.

Phu My Urea, a brand of fertilizer produced by PVFCCo, was listed inthe Top 40 valuable brands in Vietnam voted by Forbes Vietnam in 2016.

The brand was ranked 30th with the brand value of 27 million USD and describedby Forbes as the country’s leading brand in the fertilizer industry.

The company, which is listed as DPMon the stock market, is estimated to have produced nearly 826,000 tonnes offertilizer last year, exceeding its yearly target by 7 percent. The tradingvolume of the plant is about 811,000 tonnes, surpassing the year’s plan by 3percent.

As a result, PVFCCo continues to holdmore than 40 percent of the domestic nitrogenous fertiliser market.-VNA