Vietnam’s airline Bamboo Airways plans to list shares on the stock market in the third quarter this year and expects a market capitalization of US$2.7 billion.

Bamboo Airways plans to list shares on the stock market in Q3, 2021. Photo: Bamboo Airways

The airline, established in 2019, will list 105 million shares on either the Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchanges with an initial price of around VND60,000 (US$2.6) apiece, Bamboo Airways Chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Bloomberg.

This is the second attempt of the Vietnamese air carrier to list its shares on the market. Its last year attempt was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The benchmark VNIndex of Vietnamese stocks has increased 8.8% this year to a near three-year high. Meanwhile, the pandemic is under the control in Vietnam. “The market conditions are very favorable,” Bamboo Airways leader said. 

Quyet predicted that the Vietnamese government will begin lifting bans on international commercial flights this summer and the company will begin flying to the US in the last quarter of 2021. 

However, Nguyen Anh Duc from SSI Security Corporation said: “It would be "tricky" given the reluctance of some investors to bet on short-term growth for airlines.”

Quyet expected a big "boom" in the aviation industry given the rapid international vaccine rollout. "We are planning to increase Bamboo’s fleet from 22 to 40 planes in 2021."

In 2020, the airline reported a 34% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to VND400 billion (US$17.2 million). It was among the few airlines which made a profit during the pandemic year.

The Vietnamese property developer FLC currently owns 39.4% stake of Bamboo Airways from 51.29%, after Bamboo Airways increased its charter capital to VND10.5 trillion (US$452.4 million) in February.