Soc Trang, Vietnam-based shrimp exporter Fimex (Sao Ta) will issue more shares to raise funds for a new processing plant it is planning to build next year.
In a resolution on 12 November, the company’s board of directors approved a plan to issue an additional 9.8 million shares to its current stakeholders. The transaction will be carried out in 2020 or early 2021, pending approval from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, Fimex said.
With an expected price of VND 25,000 (USD 1.10, EUR 0.90) per share, Fimex is projected to pull in an additional VND 245.2 billion (USD 10.6 million, EUR 9 million), which will be used for constructing the new processing plant.
As of 13 November, Fimex’s share was traded at VND 33,450 (USD 1.40, EUR 1.20) per share in the local stock exchange.
Fimex Chairman Ho Quoc Luc told SeafoodSource in September the new factory will have an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons (MT) and will be constructed on an area of 4.3 hectares in the An Nghiep Industrial Park in Soc Trang Province.
Work on the new plant, which will be designed to produce value-added products, is expected to begin in early 2021, with an estimated construction timeline of one year.
The new factory will produce high-quality shrimp products primarily for export to the European Union, according to the company. The plant will enable Fimex to proceed with its plans to expand farming capacity in the Mekong Delta region, the company said in a statement last month.
Fimex consolidated its growth momentum this year, as the value of its shrimp exports increased 40 percent year-on-year to USD 22.9 million (EUR 19.7 million) in October. And the value it has earned thus far in 2020 has risen 19 percent year-on-year to USD 161 million (EUR 138.3 million).
However, at a board meeting on 18 October, Fimex decided to reduce the planned target for profit-before-tax this year to VND 235 billion (USD 10.1 million, EUR 8.6 million), citing negative impacts from disease outbreaks at its farms and challenging business conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The target had previously been set at VND 250 billion (USD 10.8 million, EUR 9.1 million).
Photo courtesy of Fimex
