Vietnam fertiliser firm plans October share debut

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HANOI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Petrovietnam Fertiliser and Chemicals Company (PVFCC), Vietnam's top fertiliser maker, said it plans to list on the country's main board later this month, increasing its access to funds for expanding capacity.

PVFCC, a subsidiary of state oil Petrovietnam group, applied on Thursday to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange .VNI for the licence, the company said in a statement.

"This listing plan is aimed at increasing ways of fund raising for major investment projects," said PVFCC, which operates a $370 million urea plant, Vietnam's sole fertiliser plant.

Investment projects between now and 2015 would total $1.5 billion and include capacity expansion of its Phu My Urea Plant in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau by 20-30 percent, and the construction of more fertiliser plants.

PVFCC also planned to buy shares in Petrovietnam's major petrochemical projects, it said without elaborating.

Urea output from its plant plus the fertiliser it imports meet 40 percent of Vietnam's domestic demand.

Vietnam imported 2.58 million tonnes of all fertiliser in January to September, up 8.6 percent from a year earlier, but PVFCC's increased production helped cut urea imports by 28.6 percent to 439,000 tonnes in the nine-month period.

PVFCC's key distributor is Petrosetco PET.HM, a Petrovietnam subsidiary that floated shares last month.