PetroVietnam Drilling to raise $123 million from share sales

PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint-Stock Co., which provides drilling services to joint ventures led by Soco International Plc in Vietnam, plans to sell another 25.7 million shares.

Soco International Plc is a UK oil explorer operating in Asia and Africa. The sale may raise about VND2.2 trillion (US$123 million), based on the Ho Chi Minh City-based company’s share price of VND85,000 Friday. The State Securities Commission gave permission to PetroVietnam Drilling to sell the shares to merge with its investment unit, PetroVietnam Drilling Investment Joint-Stock Co., according to a statement on the regulator’s website. PetroVietnam Drilling fell 4 percent on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange Friday. On June 9, it had reached a eight-month high of VND92,000. The provider of oilfield services is the eighth-biggest company on the exchange. The statement didn’t say when the company will sell the new shares. Officials at PetroVietnam Drilling were not available for comment. Source: Bloomberg