1 Dec 2009 15:40

VTB Bank (Azerbaijan) to begin placing $20 mln in shares on Dec 14

BAKU. Dec 1 (Interfax) - VTB Bank (Azerbaijan) plans to begin placing a supplementary share issue totaling 16 million manat (approximately $20 million) on the Baku Stock Exchange on December 14, the exchange said in a statement.

The State Committee for Securities registered the prospectus for the issue of 80 million shares on November 24.

The shares will be placed over a 100-day period in an open subscription. Brokdil-Az LLC is the underwriter for the placement.

The placement will more than triple the bank's charter capital to 23.815 million manat.

The bank's charter capital currently totals 7.815 million manat.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan approved the acquisition by Russian VTB of a 51% stake in AF-Bank in November 2008. The Azerbaijani bank was renamed VTB Bank (Azerbaijan) following the purchase. AtaHolding owns 48.99% of shares and individuals own another 0.01% of shares.

The official exchange rate on December 1 was 0.8025 manat/$1.

RTS$#&: VTBR