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Alpha Securities JSC, a Hanoi-based securities brokerage business, could consider offering a minority stake to strategic or financial investors to ramp up its capacity, CEO and Chairman Nguyen Hoang Nam said.

A strengthened capital base will help the business enhance its competitiveness and ramp up its business activities including margin lending and proprietary trading, Nguyen said.

The remarks came as a response to Mergermarket’s enquiries about whether the business is currently seeking equity funding. According to a source familiar with the matter, Alpha Securities is seeking equity funding to increase its charter capital and may offer a minority stake to a suitor. It is meanwhile exploring bond issuance to increase its working capital, the source said.

The business is planning to issue shares to existing shareholders to increase its charter capital to VND 525bn (USD 22.6m) this year from VND 175bn (USD 7.5m), Nguyen said. It may offer up to a 30% stake to an investor, the CEO said. Alpha Securities could attract interest from financial institutions such as banks, the executive noted. The business currently has no institutional shareholder. It is owned by 13 individual investors, the CEO said.

Alpha Securities is one of the local securities firms that could become an acquisition target for South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management, according to a Korean media report in December 2019.

Alpha Securities is undergoing a restructuring process with a focus on strengthening its fintech capabilities and investment banking services. The firm aims to strengthen its charter capital base for technology upgrades and expanding its network, the source said. It aims to go public on the Hanoi Stock Exchange in the next 12 months, this source added.

Nguyen confirmed that Alpha Securities is in the restructuring process and said that the business has a plan to go public in the next two years. In 2022, the firm will focus on promoting its investment banking-related services and expand its base of corporate customers, especially those who are planning to go public in the near future, he said.

The firm is also planning a bond issuance this year to raise VND 200bn-VND 1,000bn to supplement capital for its business activities including margin lending, the executive said

In line with the global trend of digital transformation, Alpha Securities has invested in upgrading its technology infrastructure and developing digital technology products. It is also looking to expand its network and add three to five branches this year, the CEO said.

Founded in 2006, Alpha Securities serves both individual and institutional clients. It offers services including brokerage, shareholder management, depository, bond trading, derivatives trading and investment banking services, according to its website.