VietJet gets shareholders nod to raise foreign ownership cap

VietJet Aviation, which controls almost half of Vietnam’s domestic airline market after first taking flight six years ago, received shareholder approval to increase foreign ownership to meet investor demand in the nation’s soaring travel industry. Shareholders meeting in Ho Chi Minh City agreed to raise the cap on foreign ownership to 49 from 30% as the budget carrier forecasts 2017 profit to rise 36% from $110m in 2016, the company said. Carrier’s higher foreign ownership now needs the approval of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc because aviation is considered a restricted industry with a 30% foreign ownership cap. VietJet has 136 foreign investors who own 26% of the company, CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said. Raising the foreign investor limit is not aimed at attracting a strategic investor, though the company is be open to one, she said. “I just want to create more investment opportunities to those who want to invest in VietJet and create better liquidity in the market,” she said. “Vietnam’s aviation industry is very attractive to investors,” said Tran Thi Hai Yen, a Ho Chi Minh City-based analyst at ACB Securities JSC. “There are more and more foreign investors interested in this company now.”<br/>