The long-haul IPO, which was initially scheduled to take place by the end of the second quarter, is being viewed as urgent, since industry competition is intensifying and private carriers are vying for Vietnam Arilines’ passengers.

Vietnam has valued itself on the basis of two methods and submitted the two proposals to the Ministry of Transport and currently awaits approval of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Based on its book value, Vietnam Airlines’ was valued at VND57.156 trillion (US$2.78 billion), of which the State capital accounted for VND10.567 trillion (US$507 million), as of March 31, 2013.

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However, based on international standards, foreign financial adviser have estimated that Vietnam Airlines’ value was worth VND57.047 trillion (US$2.7 billion), of which the State capital contributed VND23.493 trillion (US$1.128 billion), as of March 31, 2013.

Vietnam Airlines’ IPO will be the first aviation equitisation in the Southeast Asian country that makes the value determination process more challenging.

In the monthly government meeting held earlier this week, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang requested the Prime Minister to hasten the process of ratifying Vietnam Airlines’ proposal, so that the carrier can finalize its detailed IPO plan.

The carrier plans that after launching its IPO, the State will hold a ruling stake of 70-80%, also pending the Prime Minister approval.

Vietnam Airlines, an official member of Sky Team Alliance since June 10, 2010, is the only one left among the six regional main flag carriers that is not publicly listed. In Vietnam, IPO and listing are separate processes.

Vietnam Airlines earned a pre-tax profit of VND533 billion (US$25.3 million) in 2013, 34% more than the year’s set target. The carrier earned a total revenue of VND72.6 trillion (US$3.4 billion), up 8.5% as compared to the year’s plan. The airline carried 15 million passengers, with a record occupancy ratio of 79.5%.