Deals of the year
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| L-R: Dang Duong Anh of Vilaf, Connie Heng of Clifford Chance, Matthew Bersani of Shearman & Sterling and Truong Nhat Quang of YKVN |
WINNER: Vincom convertible
Vincom’s $100 million convertible in November was a groundbreaking deal for Vietnam. The deal was the first convertible to be sold overseas, and only the second international bond. (The first was issued by the sovereign in 2005.)
This created a number of challenges to ready the regime for an international convertible bond. Vincom successfully sought verbal approval from the State Bank of Vietnam prior to pricing, providing comfort to it and the bookrunner. Two 10b-5 opinions were also prepared to educate investors about the company and the convertible’s structure – and to manage the liability of the issuer and bookrunner.
Vincom also worked with the regulators on the regime for conversion. Vietnam restricts foreign ownership so a...