Second sale of PVST shares: No price reduction, who will buy?

Second sale, but no discount

On May 20, the auction of the entire lot of more than 2.5 million shares (equivalent to 25.26% of charter capital) of Sa Pa Petroleum Tourism Joint Stock Company (PVST) will be held at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). This lot of shares is owned by Lao Cai Provincial Lottery One Member Co., Ltd., and is offered for sale at a starting price of more than VND95.23 billion, equivalent to VND37,700/share.

This starting price is determined based on Valuation Certificate No. 111/2024/109/CTTĐG-CPAVIETNAM-NV2 conducted by CPA Vietnam Auditing Company Limited on November 21, 2024. Previously, in April 2025, the shares were offered for sale, but no investors registered to buy.

PVST was established in 2008, with a charter capital of 100 billion VND, operating in the field of accommodation and restaurants. The Company's main business activities revolve around the operation of BB Hotel Sapa (renamed Hotel Sapa Square Affiliated by Melia). This is also a very valuable asset of this enterprise.

In the early stages of its establishment, PVST was controlled by units of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group. Through several transfers, PVST now has 3 shareholders, all of whom are organizations.

The divestment announcement shows that the largest shareholder, BB Hospitality Holdings Joint Stock Company, is holding a controlling stake in PVST, with a ratio of 74.25% of the capital. BB Hospitality Holdings is a member of BB Group Joint Stock Company - a multi-industry enterprise specializing in hotel and resort management, with the brands Kobi Onsen Resort Hue , Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa, BB Sapa Resort & Spa and BB Hotel Sapa.

Business operations are continuously losing money.

It can be said that the divestment took place in an unfavorable context. According to the 2024 financial report, PVST recorded VND 27 billion in revenue and a loss of VND 4.5 billion. The loss situation also occurred in 2022 and 2023, with after-tax profits of negative VND 4.7 billion and VND 5.6 billion, respectively.

PVST assessed that, in addition to the objective impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Sa Pa tourism market also witnessed fierce competition in terms of customer sources and an increase in the number of new accommodation establishments. The trend of a younger customer base also made newly invested hotels attract more guests than BB Hotel Sapa.

Prolonged ineffective business operations caused PVST's accumulated loss by the end of 2024 to be VND 60.6 billion, while its charter capital was VND 100 billion. At the end of 2024, the Company's total assets reached VND 98.7 billion, of which cash was only VND 0.53 billion and short-term receivables (after setting aside a provision of VND 10.5 billion) were VND 1.84 billion.

Notably, PVST has an investment in Ham Rong Rubber Tourism Joint Stock Company with a recorded value of more than VND 16 billion and investments in other entities with a recorded value of VND 645 million. According to the auditor's opinion, the Board of Directors does not have the necessary financial information to assess the loss value of these investments.

On the other side of the balance sheet, PVST's total debt is 57 billion VND, 41.8 billion VND higher than its equity. Of which, total short-term debt is 8.3 billion VND, exceeding short-term assets by 5.2 billion VND.

“These factors raise doubts about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. However, the Company’s General Director assesses that the ability to continue operating is well-founded, based on the ability to operate profitably in the future and the support of shareholders to pay debts when due,” said ALF Auditing and Consulting Services Co., Ltd. - the auditor of PVST’s 2024 Financial Statements.

It is known that PVST is managing 2 land plots in Sa Pa, including a 1,114 m2 land plot at 8 Cau May Street, with annual land lease payments until 2053 (BB Hotel Sapa) and a 1,046 m2 land plot at 23 Cau May Street. On the land plot at 23 Cau May Street, PVST once planned to build Chapa Garden Hotel with a scale of 30 billion VND, but the project was stopped in 2017 and there is no plan to re-implement it. In the financial report, this investment is recorded as unfinished costs with a value of 4.5 billion VND.

Facing many challenges, PVST still sets a target of VND32.8 billion in revenue and VND0.58 billion in pre-tax profit in 2025. The company said it is making efforts to implement solutions to stabilize operations and seek measures to improve its financial situation.

With the business situation still facing many difficulties, and with major shareholder BB Hospitality Holdings holding the controlling stake, whether the starting price of the upcoming auctioned shares is attractive enough to attract investors is a big question.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/rao-ban-co-phan-pvst-lan-hai-khong-giam-gia-ai-se-mua-d283341.html