The consultation is expected to be completed in October, and so an IPO could take place soon after. Indeed, the country's ninth-largest bank, which provides financial services for home buyers and small-to-medium sized enterprises, is one of Vietnam's four state-run banks that will be partly privatised this year.
The other three banks are the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), the Bank for Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam (Incombank) and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). Each is expected to sell a 30% stake to private investors.
Vietcombank, which is Vietnam's third-largest bank by assets and has chosen Credit Suisse as an adviser for its IPO, is likely to list in July or August. The other banks are still deciding upon their advisors.
Agribank, the country's largest bank, is expected to follow suit and list in the summer of 2008.
When the government announced that these banks would sell stakes, it also said an additional 69 state firms would be privatised between now and 2010.
This is all part of the banking sector reforms required of Vietnam as a part of its admission to the World Trade Organisation in January.
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