SCIC's 63.38% Seaprodex (SEA) Stake Auction Fails Again as No Bidders Register

Overview

SCIC’s auction of its entire 63.38% stake in Tổng công ty Thủy sản Việt Nam (Seaprodex, ticker SEA) failed for a second time after no investor registered by the 26 October deadline, the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) announced. The lot of nearly 80 million SEA shares carried a floor price above VND 8,500 billion, and the outcome keeps the company’s landmark 2-4-6 Đồng Khởi land plot in Hồ Chí Minh City under state ownership for now.

Key Facts

• SCIC offered 63.38% of Seaprodex, equivalent to nearly 80 million SEA shares, as a single lot.
• The starting price for the whole lot exceeded VND 8,500 billion, or an average floor of VND 107,400 per share.
• The registration and deposit deadline was 15:30 on 26 October; the auction was scheduled for 9:00 on 2 November.
• HNX cancelled a prior auction on the same stake on 29 September for the same reason: no registered bidders.
• Shareholder structure: SCIC 63.38%, Địa ốc Ngân Hiệp 24.03%, Redwood Investment 8.44%, minority holders 4.15%.
• The two Novaland (NVL)-linked shareholders, Ngân Hiệp and Redwood, together hold about 32.47% of SEA.
• Seaprodex’s 2-4-6 Đồng Khởi site covers 1,522 m2, of which 1,458 m2 sits outside the road boundary, with three street frontages and a 20-storey mixed-use zoning cap.
• H1 2026 results: net revenue of nearly VND 435 billion and after-tax profit above VND 100 billion.

What Happened

In a notice, HNX said no investor registered or placed a deposit to buy the Seaprodex block held by the Tổng Công ty Đầu tư và Kinh doanh vốn nhà nước (SCIC) by the 15:30 deadline on 26 October. Under Article 13 of the auction rules for the Seaprodex share lot, the sale did not meet the conditions to be held, and the 9:00 session on 2 November was scrapped. It is the second time HNX has been unable to run the auction, following the cancelled 29 September session.

The original plan called for SCIC to divest its full holding of nearly 80 million SEA shares at a combined floor price above VND 8,500 billion, equal to VND 107,400 per share on average. The article, citing HNX, does not disclose any revised timetable or price. Seaprodex’s most valuable asset is the 2-4-6 Đồng Khởi plot where its head office sits, described as one of the most prime sites in central Hồ Chí Minh City and zoned for a hotel, retail, office and apartment complex of up to 20 storeys.

Market Context

SEA trades on UPCOM, where it closed at VND 46,500 on 31 October, well below the VND 107,400 per-share floor SCIC set for the block, a gap that helps explain the absence of bidders. Novaland (NVL), listed on HOSE, closed at VND 10,400 on the same date. The failed sale keeps a large state-owned block off the market and leaves the Đồng Khởi redevelopment story unresolved, at a time when Vietnamese real estate and seafood names are both sensitive to credit conditions and land-clearance timelines.

Strategic Significance

The auction is effectively a test of how the market prices a scarce central-Hồ Chí Minh City land bank inside a listed seafood company. At VND 107,400 per share, buyers would be paying a steep premium to SEA’s UPCOM price for control of a site whose value depends on a complex redevelopment plan that has not yet been permitted. SCIC’s inability to place the stake twice suggests the state’s valuation and the market’s do not yet meet, which delays any privatization path and keeps the Novaland-linked holders at 32.47% as the only credible strategic block behind SCIC.

What to Watch

• Any HNX or SCIC announcement of a third auction date or a revised floor price for the 63.38% block.
• SCIC statements on alternative divestment routes, including negotiated sale or a reduced lot size.
• Hồ Chí Minh City planning decisions on the 2-4-6 Đồng Khởi site, including the 20-storey mixed-use approval.
• Any change in the holdings of Ngân Hiệp and Redwood Investment, the Novaland-linked shareholders holding 32.47%.
• Seaprodex’s full-year 2026 results, following H1 net revenue of nearly VND 435 billion and after-tax profit above VND 100 billion.