SmartInvest Securities (AAS) expects to pay a 50% dividend in 2021, planning to increase capital by more than 6 times to 5,000 billion VND.

(According to CafeF)On March 28, SmartInvest Securities Joint Stock Company (stock code: AAS) will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2022. Expected to issue shares to increase charter capital to 5,000 billion VND in 2022. According to the published documents, the general meeting will vote to approve the plan to pay 2021 dividends in shares at a rate of 50%, meaning shareholders owning every 2 AAS shares will receive 1 new share. This rate is higher than the previously approved dividend payment plan of 30%. Thus, with 80 million outstanding shares, SmartInvest expects to issue an additional 40 million shares, with the issuance source drawn from undistributed after-tax profit as of the end of 2021 (409 billion VND). In parallel, SmartInvest also wants to present to shareholders a plan to issue private placement shares to further increase charter capital by 3,000 billion VND. Specifically, the company expects to privately offer 300 million shares at an offering price of 10,000 VND, corresponding to a total amount of 3,000 billion VND. New shares offered in this round will be restricted from transfer for 3 years for strategic investors and 1 year for professional securities investors from the end date of the offering. Regarding the usage plan, AAS is expected to allocate funds for the company’s operations, including supplementing capital for investment activities in valuable papers on the market (50% – 1,500 billion); supplementing capital for securities margin lending activities (30% – 900 billion); supplementing capital for securities underwriting activities (20% – 600 billion). At the same time, the company also wants to offer 80 million shares to existing shareholders at a 1:1 ratio at a price of 10,000 VND, thereby increasing charter capital by an additional 800 billion VND. With the expected proceeds of 800 billion VND, AAS plans to use 400 billion VND (50%) to supplement capital for investment activities in valuable papers on the market; 240 billion VND (30%) to supplement capital for securities margin lending activities; and the remaining 160 billion VND (20%) to supplement capital for securities underwriting activities. If successful with all three aforementioned plans, the company’s charter capital will increase more than 6 times, from 800 billion VND to 5,000 billion VND. Profit target for 2022 reaches 480 billion VND, planning to list AAS shares. Entering 2022, SmartInvest has also set a business plan with total operating revenue expected to reach 1,200 billion VND, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year’s performance. Target after-tax profit is 480 billion VND, an increase of 27% year-on-year. The company expects the dividend payment ratio in 2022 to be 30%, in cash or shares. Notably, SmartInvest expects to transfer AAS shares from the UPCoM market to be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange or the Hanoi Stock Exchange in 2022. Additionally, to facilitate and serve the operations of SmartInvest Securities Joint Stock Company in the next development phase, the company also submitted to shareholders the approval for establishing a representative office in Japan and a branch in Ho Chi Minh City. Looking back at 2021, SmartInvest’s audited financial report recorded operating revenue of nearly 960 billion VND, exceeding the adjusted target of 200 billion VND by more than 2 times, with cumulative pre-tax profit reaching 472 billion VND. Operating revenue recorded from financial assets recognized through profit or loss (FVTPL) contributed the most with 862 billion VND, including profit from selling FVTPL financial assets of 307 billion VND and dividend interest arising from FVTPL financial assets reaching 555 billion VND. In the market, AAS shares are trading at historical price levels, closing the session on March 7 at 31,400 VND/share.