Vietnam LPG importer Anpha Petrol to float shares

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HANOI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Anpha Petrol, which imports and distributes about 10 percent of Vietnam's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand, will float its shares by year-end, the company said on Friday.

A company official said the firm would sign an agreement to sell a 10 percent stake to the state-run Vietindebank on Friday but declined to give the value of the deal.

The company, which imports and sells about 7,000 tonnes of LPG per month, has also sold a 5.5 percent stake to Japanese trader Sojitz Corp (2768.T) and agreed a long-term contract with Sojitz for LPG supply, the official added.

"We aim to list all of our 12.6 million shares on the stock exchange to raise funds for our business expansion," the official said, adding that the listing would be on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

Shares in Anpha Petrol are trading at about 50,000 dong ($3.1) each on the unofficial market, valuing the firm at about 630 billion dong ($39 million).

Anpha Petrol Chief Executive Tran Minh Loan said in a statement that first-half pre-tax profit totalled nearly $1 million. It projected annual revenue this year would exceed 1 trillion dong ($62 million).

The company, which competes against Petrolimex Gas PGC.HM and Petrovietnam Gas in the fast-growing market for LPG, operates four LPG tankers and seven LPG depots, including a 1,800-tonne LPG storage facility in the northern port city of Haiphong.

Total LPG demand this year is projected at 800,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes, about 345,000 tonnes of which will be produced locally at Petrovietnam Gas's Dinh Co LPG Plant.

LPG consumption is forecast to grow about 10 percent annually, government energy officials said. ($1=16,162 dong)