One of Vietnam's most powerful tycoons Nguyen Duc Kien - a household
name in the financial market and football industry - was arrested yesterday
evening over unannounced economic reasons, sending shockwaves across the
country.
The arrest was confirmed by the
General Police Department of Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public
Security.
The multi-millionaire Kien is
founder of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), one of Vietnam's largest
banks.
Kien, who was living at Alley
No.27 on Xuan Dieu Street in Hanoi's Tay Ho District, was arrested on Monday
evening for alleged violations in business activities, a leader of the General
Police Department of Crime Prevention told Tuoi Tre. But this senior policeman
declined to elaborate.
The Investigation Police Agency
under the Ministry of Public Security also conducted a one-hour search at his
residence in Hanoi on Monday night. The police agency said they had seized
several documents related to Kien's violation.
Just hours before his arrest - on
late Monday afternoon - Kien met with Tuoi Tre for an interview about issues
arisen from the to the 2012 football season in Vietnam at the Hilton Hotel in
Hanoi.
The 48-year-old man is also
deputy chairman of the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Co (VPF) and
chairman of Hanoi Football Club.
He is also a founding shareholder
in several other commercial banks such as Kien Long Commercial Joint Stock Bank
and the Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank.
Besides being a banking tycoon,
Kien is well-known as a football manager and a philanthropist.
Stock market down
News of his arrest sent the stock
market to the bottom in a matter of hours.
The benchmark of Vietnamese stock
market, VN-Index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, and the indicator of Hanoi
Stock Exchange, HNX-Index, dropped 15.24 points (3.49 percent) and 3.01 points
(4.26 percent) on Tuesday morning, due to the arrest.
The shares of Asia Commercial
Joint Stock Bank (coded ACB) and Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock
Bank (coded EIB) saw 1 million shares and 2 million shares unsold at their
floor prices respectively.
All stock in the newly launched
HNX30 almost hit the floor simultaneously.
ACB: It is Kien's personal issue
"It is a personal issue (of
Kien)," said Nguyen Thanh Toai, deputy general director cum spokesman of
ACB.
"Kien is no longer a major
shareholder, nor a board member, and are not involved in the bank's board of
executives."
"The detention of Kien is
the decision of the authorities so it does not affect the normal operation of
the bank," Toai stressed.
Toai told Tuoi Tre that since
Kien is no longer a major shareholder, Kien is not obliged to disclose
information about the ACB shares owned by him and his family members.
Kien is holding less than 5
percent of ACB shares, Toai said.
Tuoi Tre News
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment