Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited (MUL) will acquire a 49 per cent equity interest in VietinBank Leasing Company Limited, according to an announcement.
VietinBank Leasing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), the country’s fourth-largest bank by market capitalisation. Established in 1998, the leasing company had a charter capital of 1 trillion dong ($43 million) and total assets of 3.03 trillion dong ($130.8 million) as of May 29, 2020.
On Monday, the board of VietinBank approved the sale of a 49 per cent stake in its leasing unit to MUL and another 1 per cent to a local investor. The Vietnamese bank continues to own the rest of the subsidiary.
The stake sale in its leasing unit follows VietinBank’s divestment of a remaining 4.91 per cent stake in Saigonbank for Industry and Trade for 303.5 billion dong ($13.1 million) last year.
Through its investment in VietinBank Leasing, MUL plans to expand its operations to Vietnam. The company’s portfolio of services includes consumer lending, asset financing, trading of used equipment, insurance operations and real estate securitization.
MUL’s principal shareholders include Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Mitsubishi Corporation.
MUFG is also the largest foreign shareholder in VietinBank. In 2018, it was reportedly looking to increase its ownership from the current 19.7 per cent to 50 per cent in the Vietnamese lender.
