Petrolimex fails to meet public-company criteria under securities law due to insufficient free float

Petrolimex is currently the largest gasoline and oil retailer in Vietnam, with an estimated market share of about 50% based on sales volume and a network of 5,500 petrol stations nationwide. According to a letter published on April 10, Petrolimex (PLX) stated that the company currently does not meet the conditions to maintain its status as a public company under the Securities Law. Specifically, based on data from the record date for attendance at the 2026 annual general meeting of shareholders as of March 25, compiled by the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, Petrolimex has a total of 43,266 shareholders. Of which, the number of shareholders holding voting shares but not being large shareholders reaches 43,264 investors. However, the total stake held by this group of minority shareholders is just over 9.4% of the voting shares. Under the Securities Law, a public company must ensure at least 10% of the voting shares are held by at least 100 investors who are not large shareholders. With the current ratio, Petrolimex violates this condition. Regarding the remediation timeline, Petrolimex will have one year to remedy the above. If after one year from the violation the group still cannot raise the ownership ratio of minority shareholders to 10%, the company must submit a dossier to revoke its public-company status to the State Securities Commission for consideration of delisting. Petrolimex said that in the near term the company will continue reporting to regulators on obstacles related to the public-company conditions for the privatized enterprise and actively develop a remediation plan compliant with regulations. Currently, Petrolimex has two major shareholders. The state shareholder (represented by the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises) holds 75.87% of charter capital. The foreign strategic shareholder ENEOS Corporation holds 13.08%. These two entities together hold nearly 89% of Petrolimex's charter capital. Petrolimex is currently the largest gasoline and oil retailer in Vietnam with an estimated market share of about 50% by volume and a network of about 5,500 gasoline stations nationwide. On April 24, Petrolimex will hold its 2026 annual general meeting of shareholders, presenting a business plan with a target revenue of a record VND 315,000 billion, up 2%. However, the pretax profit plan is expected to decline by 7% year-on-year to VND 3,380 billion. Petrolimex will also present to shareholders the 2025 profit distribution plan with a cash dividend of 12% (1,200 dong per share), corresponding to an expected payout of 1,525 billion dong. The dividend payout ratio for 2026 is expected to be 10%.