Petrovietnam's PVFC raises $259 mln in IPO auction

HANOI, Oct 21 (Reuters) - PVFC, the financial arm of Vietnamese state oil company Petrovietnam, raised 4.17 trillion dong ($259 million) from an initial public offering for 12 percent of its shares, valuing the firm at about $2.15 billion.

The Hanoi stock exchange said in a statement PVFC sold all 59.64 million shares on offer in an auction at an average price of 69,974 dong, or 37 percent more than its starting price.

Hanoi-based PVFC said last week it had begun talks to form a partnership with U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS.N). State media have said Morgan Stanley was interested in acquiring 10 percent of PVFC following the IPO.

Traders said PVFC, which operates as a de facto bank for oil monopoly Petrovietnam, would float all its shares soon on the main board of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, although no date had been set. ($1=16,075 dong)