Decision No. 1122/2001/QD-NHNN dated September 04, 2001 of the State Bank on shareholders, shares, share certificates and charter capital of state and people's commercial shareholding banks issuing regulations on shareholders, shares, share certificates and charter capital of state and people's commercial shareholding banks

DECISION

ON SHAREHOLDERS, SHARES, SHARE CERTIFICATES AND CHARTER CAPITAL OF STATE AND PEOPLE S COMMERCIAL SHAREHOLDING BANKS ISSUING REGULATIONS ON SHAREHOLDERS, SHARES, SHARE CERTIFICATES AND CHARTER CAPITAL OF STATE AND PEOPLE S COMMERCIAL SHAREHOLDING BANKS

THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE BANK

PursuanttotheLawontheStateBank01-1997-QH10andtheLawonCreditInstitutions02-1997-QH10dated 12December 1997;

Pursuant to the Law on Enterprises 13-1999-QH10 dated 12 June1999;

PursuanttoDecree15-CPoftheGovernmentdated2March1993onduties,powersandresponsibilities for State administration of ministriesand ministerialequivalentbodies;

Pursuant to Decree 49/2000/ND-CP of the Government dated 12 September 2000 onorganizationand operation of commercialbanks;

On the proposal of the Director of theDepartment for Banksand Non-Banking Credit Institutions;

DECIDES:

Article 1

Toissue with this Decision theRegulations onShareholders, Shares, Share Certificates and Charter Capital of State and People sCommercial Shareholding Banks.

Article 2

ThisDecisionshallbeoffullforceandeffectafterfifteen(15)daysfromthedateofitssigningandshall replace the provisions on commercial shareholding banks in theRegulations on Shareholders, Shares, Share Certificates and Charter Capital of Shareholding Credit Institutionsissued with Decision275-QD/NH5of the Governor of the State Bank dated 7 November1994.

Article 3

The Head of the State Bank Office,the Directorof the Department for Banks and Non-Banking Credit Institutions,theHeadoftheStateBank Inspectorate,headsofrelevantunitsoftheCentralStateBank, directors of State Bank branches of provinces and cities, and chairmenand members of boards of management and of boards of controllersand general directors (directors) of State and people s commercial shareholdingbanks shall beresponsible for implementation of this Decision.

REGULATIONS

ON SHAREHOLDERS, SHARES, SHARE CERTIFICATES AND CHARTER CAPITAL OF STATE AND PEOPLE S COMMERCIAL SHAREHOLDING BANKS
(IssuedwithDecision1122/2001/QD-NHNNoftheStateBankof Vietnam dated 4 September 2001 and amendedbyDecision 797/2002/QD-NHNN of the State Bankof Vietnam dated29 July2002)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

These Regulations shall apply toState commercial shareholdingbanks andpeople s commercial shareholding banks (hereinafter referred to ascommercial shareholdingbanks) which are licensed to operate in Vietnam underthe provisions of theLawon Credit Institutions.

Article 2

In these Regulations the following terms shall be construed as follows:

1.Legal capitalmeans the minimum level of capital stipulatedby the lawonestablishment of a commercial shareholdingbank.

2.Chartercapitalmeans the amount of paidup capital from all shareholders and recorded inthe charter of thecommercial shareholding bank.

3.Sharesmeans the equalparts intowhich chartercapital has beendivided.

4.Share certificatesmeans certificates issued by a commercial shareholding bank confirming ownershipofoneoranumberofsharesinthatcommercialshareholdingbank. Sharesmayormay notrecordaname,inaccordancewiththeprovisionsinthecharterofthecommercialshareholding bank.

5.Shareholdermeansanorganizationorindividualbeingtheownerofoneoranumberofsharesina commercial shareholdingbank.

6.Founding shareholdermeans a person whoparticipates inapproving the initial charter of the commercial shareholdingbank.

7.Majorshareholdermeansanorganizationorindividualowningoverten(10)percentofthecharter capital orholding over ten (10) per cent of the share capital with voting rights in the commercial shareholding bank.

8.Dividendmeans the amount of money deducted annually from theprofits of a commercial shareholding bank to be paid on each share.

Article 3

A commercial shareholding bank may only list its shares at a SecuritiesTrading Centre upon written approvalfromtheStateBank. TheStateBankshallprovidespecificregulationsongrantingapprovalfor commercial shareholding banks to list shares, to takepart in trading, and to issue new shares at a SecuritiesTradingCentre. Anycommercialshareholdingbankparticipatinginthesecuritiesmarketmustcomply withthe law onsecurities and thesecuritiesmarket.

Article 4

A commercial shareholding bank must have atleast thirty five (35) shareholders (or twenty (25) shareholdersinthecaseofacommercialshareholdingbankoperatingintheruralsector),includingone shareholderbeingaStateownedenterpriseorashareholdingcompanywithcapitalcontributionbyaState owned enterprise of over thirty(30) per cent of charter capital.

Article 5

Foreignorganizations orindividualsmay only purchase shares in commercial shareholding banks with permission from the State Bank.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section I. SHAREHOLDERS, SHARES, SHARE CERTIFICATES AND DIVIDENDS

Part I

SHAREHOLDERS AND SHARES

Article 6

Shareholders of a commercial shareholdingbank shall include State owned enterprises, State credit institutions, individuals andotherorganizationscontributing capital.

Article 7

1. Acommercialshareholdingbankmusthaveordinaryshares,andthepersonsowningthemshallbe called ordinary shareholders.

2. Acommercialshareholdingbankmayhavepreferentialvotingshares,andthepersonsowningthem shallbe called preferentialvoting shareholders.

2.1. Preferentialvotingsharesmeansshareswithagreaternumberofvotesattachedtothemthan ordinaryshares. Thecharterofacommercialshareholdingbankshallcontainregulationson the numberofvotes for one preferentialvoting share.

2.2. Onlyfoundingshareholdersshallhavetherighttoholdpreferentialvotingshares. Preferential votingbyfoundingshareholdersshallonlybeeffectiveforthreeyearsfromthedateonwhich thecommercialshareholdingbankisissuedwithitsbusinessregistrationcertificate. Afterthat time-limit, preferential voting sharesof founding shareholders shall convert into ordinaryshares.

2.3. Shareholders owning preferential votingshares maynot assign them to any other person.

3. Ordinary sharesmaynotbeconvertedintopreferentialvotingshares. Preferentialvotingsharesmay be convertedinto ordinaryshares pursuant toa decision of the general meetingof shareholders.

Article 8.Rights of shareholders

1. Ordinary shareholders shall have the following rights:

(a) To participate in, and to vote on allissues within the authority of, the generalmeeting of shareholders;tostand,ortonominateanotherperson,forelectionasamemberoftheboard of management or board of controllers (if thereis the minimum number of sharesas prescribedby the charter of thecommercialshareholdingbank).Eachordinaryshareshall have one vote;

(b) To receive dividends in the sum decidedby the general meeting of shareholders;

(c) To be given priority to purchase new shares when the commercial shareholdingbank increases its chartercapital;

(d) Toassignsharesinaccordancewiththecharterofthecommercialshareholdingbankandthe regulations of the State Bank;

(dd) Toreceiveinformationontheoperationalstatusofthebankinaccordancewiththeprovisions in the charterof the commercialshareholding bank;

(e) Toprovideapowerofattorneyforanyoneoccasionforanotherpersontoparticipatedirectly in ageneral meeting of shareholders inaccordance with the charter of the commercial shareholdingbank;theproxymaynotinturnauthorizeanotherpersonandmaynotstandfor election in his or herpersonal capacity;

(g) Upondissolutionorbankruptcyofthecommercialshareholdingbank,toreceivethatpartof the residual assets corresponding to the number of paid-up shares in the commercial shareholding bank in accordance with the law on dissolution andbankruptcy;

(h) Other rightsin accordancewith law andthe charter ofthe commercial shareholding bank.

2. Majorshareholderswhichhaveheldtheirsharesforatleastsixconsecutivemonthsshallhavethe rights:

(a) To nominate a person to the board of managementor board of controllers;

(b) Toviewandtoreceiveacopyoranextractofthelistofshareholderswiththerighttoattenda general meeting of shareholders;

(c) To request that a general meeting of shareholders beconvened;

(d) Otherrightsinaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthecharterofthecommercialshareholding bank and inaccordance with law.

3. Preferentialvoting shareholders shall, in addition to the same rights asordinary shareholders,be entitledtovoteonissueswithintheauthorityofthegeneralmeetingofshareholderswiththenumber of votes stipulated by the charter ofthe commercial shareholdingbank.

Article 9.Obligations ofshareholders

1. Topurchaseallofthesharesthattheyhaveundertakentopurchaseandtoberesponsiblebefore the law for the legality of the funds withwhich the shares are purchased;

2. To comply with the charterand with theinternal regulations of the commercialshareholding bank;

3. To comply with decisions ofthe general meeting of shareholders and of the board of management;

4. Toberesponsiblefordebtsandotherpropertyobligationsofthecommercialshareholdingbankto the extent of the amount of their paid-up capital;

5. Not to withdraw share capital in any form whatsoever;

6. To fulfil other obligations in accordance with the provisions of the charter of the commercial shareholding bank and inaccordance with law.

Article10.Founding shareholdersandrights of founding shareholders

1. Forthefirstthreeyearsfromthedateonwhichacommercialshareholdingbankis issuedwitha businessregistrationcertificate,thefoundingshareholdersmusttogetherholdatleasttwenty(20) percentoftheordinarysharesofferedforsale;andtheordinarysharesofthefoundingshareholders maybeassignedtonon-shareholdersifthegeneralmeetingofshareholdersconsents. Founding shareholderswhich propose to assign their shares may not vote onthat issue.

2. Upon expiry of three years, the restrictionson the ordinary shares of founding shareholdersas stipulated in clause 1 of this article shall be lifted.

Article11.Shareholders register

1. Acommercialshareholdingbankmustopenandmaintainashareholdersregisterfromthedateof issuance of its business registration certificate. The shareholders register may be a written documentor it may be in electronic form,and itmust contain the following principal items:

(a) Nameand head office of commercialshareholding bank;

(b) Totalnumberofsharespermittedtobeofferedforsale,classesofsharespermittedtobeoffered for sale, and numbers of eachclass of shares permitted to be offered for sale;

(c) Fluctuationsin total number of shares soldin each classand valueof paid-up share capital;

(d) Names and addresses of shareholders, numbers of each class of shares and total overall number of shares of each shareholder, and dates onwhich the shareswere registered.

2. Theshareholdersregistermustberetainedattheheadofficeofthecommercialshareholdingbank. Everysixmonths,thecommercialshareholdingbankmustreportinwritingtotheStateBankbranch inthelocalitywhereithasitsheadoffice ifthereisachangeinanyoneoftheitemslistedinclause1 of this article.

Part II

PURCHASE, OFFERING FOR SALE, AND ASSIGNMENT OF SHARES

Article12

1. Shares of commercial shareholding banks may bepurchased in Vietnamese dong, in freely convertible foreign currency, with gold, with the value of landuse rightsor with other assetsas stipulated in the charter of the commercialshareholding bank and in accordancewith law.

2. In the case of capital contribution by the value of land use rightsor otherassets which are not Vietnamese dong, freely convertibleforeign currencyor gold, they must beassets which are necessaryto servicetheactivitiesofthe commercial shareholding bankandmustbe approvedbythe generalmeeting. Thevaluationandassignmentoflanduserightsandoftheownershipofassets shallbe implemented inaccordance with articles 22 and 23 of theLaw onEnterprisesand other relevant laws.

Article13

1. Theboardof managementshallmakea decisioninaccordance withlawonthe priceatwhich shares shallbeofferedforsale. Ifthatpriceishigherthantheparvalueoftheshares,theremustbea resolutionofthegeneralmeetingofshareholders,andthedifferenceshallbeaccountedforinthe reserve fund for supplementing chartercapital.³

2. Thecorrectandcompleteinformationrequiredbyarticle11(d)ofthisDecisionshallberecordedin theshareholdersregisteraftershareshavebeensoldortransferred,andasfromthatdatetheshare purchaser orthe share transferee shallbecome a shareholder of the commercial shareholding bank.

3. The proceduresandorder for offering shares for sale at a SecuritiesTrading Centre shallbe implementedin accordance with law.

Article14

1. Sharesofmembersoftheboardofmanagementandoftheboardofcontrollers;andsharesofmajor shareholders,offoundingshareholdersandofforeignersinacommercialshareholdingbankshallbe issuedintheformofanamedsharecertificate. TheStateBankmustapproveanytransferofnamed sharecertificatesthetotalofwhichexceedstwenty(20)percentofthechartercapital(asfromthe most recent transfer registered at the State Bank).

2. TheStateBankmustprovidewrittenapprovaltoanychangeintheshareratioofmajorshareholders of a commercial shareholding bank.

3. Duringtheirperiodinofficeandwhiletheyaresubjecttoanyproceedingsforlossforwhichtheyare personally liable pursuantto a resolution of the generalmeetingof shareholders,members of the board of management and of the board of controllersand thegeneral director (director) may not transfer theirshares, except in the followingcases:

(a) Transfer of the number of sharesabove the minimum level required to hold office in accordancewith the provisions in thecharter of the commercial shareholdingbank;

(b) A shareholder being a legal entity merges, consolidates, divides, is dissolved ordeclared bankrupt in accordance with lawor a shareholder beinganindividual diesor loses civil capacityormustcompulsorilytransfersharesinaccordancewithadecisionofalegalbody, upon finalization of the financialobligations of the shareholder at thebank.

Article15

1. Thefileforachangeinthesharesofa shareholderasstipulatedinclauses1and2ofarticle 14shall comprise:

(a) Submission from the chairman of the board of management;

(b) Applicationfromtheshareholdertotransfershares(theapplicationofalegalentitymustbe signed and sealed by its legal representative);

(c) Application from the shareholder topurchase shares, including an undertakingas to the legalityofthefundswithwhichthesharesaretobepurchased,itsacceptanceofthecurrent financialsituationandcharterofthecommercialshareholdingbank,andcompliancewithall regulationsrelatingtosharepurchases(theapplicationofalegalentitymustbesignedand sealed by its legal representative);

(d) File of a shareholder transferring shareslessthan twenty (20) per cent of charter capital;

(dd) Other relevantlegal documents.

2. A commercial shareholding bank must prepare afile (twomain sets) in accordance with the provisionsinclause1ofthisarticleandsubmitittotheStateBankbranchinthelocalitywhereits headofficeislocated. Withinatime-limitoffifteen(15)daysfromthedateofreceiptofacomplete file,theStateBankbranchmustcheckthesharetransferpriortoanychangeinordertoensurethat the share capital of shareholders remainslawful and must provide a written response to the commercialshareholdingbankapprovingthesharetransfer,ornotapproving(ifitconsidersthefile doesnotcomplywiththeregulationsandthechangeofshareholdingmaydestabilizetheoperations ofthecommercialshareholdingbank). Inthecaseofnon-approval,theresponsemustspecifythe reasons.

3. Afterthetransfer ofsharesofashareholder,a commercial shareholdingbankmustreport bysending acopyofthelistofshareholderstotheStateBank(theStateBankbranchinthelocalitywhereits head office is locatedandalso to theBanking Department of the State Bank).

Part III

RESTRICTIONS ON SHARE OWNERSHIP

Article16

1. AnyStateownedenterpriseandanycompaniesinwhichthatStateownedenterpriseholdsfifty(50) percentormoreofthechartercapitalmaynottogetherownanumberofsharesexceedingforty(40) per cent of the chartercapital of any one commercial shareholding bank.

2. With respect to shareholders other than Stateowned enterprises: anyorganization and its representative, or any company and its subsidiaries whicharelegal entities, may own shares not exceeding thirty (30)per cent of the chartercapital of any one commercial shareholding bank.

3. Shareholders being individualsmay own sharesnot exceeding fifteen (15)per cent of thecharter capital of anyone commercial shareholding bank.

4. Shareholdersbeingindividualsandrelatedpersonswithintheirfamily(parents,spouses,childrenor siblings) may own shares not exceeding thirty (30) per centof the charter capital ofany one commercial shareholdingbank.

5. Ifonememberofafamilyisalreadytherepresentativeforthecapitalshareofashareholderbeing an individual who haspaid-up capital in a commercial shareholding bank, the remaining family members may only ownless thantwenty (20) percent of the charter capital of the commercial shareholding bank.

Part IV

SHARE CERTIFICATES AND DIVIDENDS

Article17

Share certificates of a commercial shareholdingbank maynot be used for a financial pledge to the commercial shareholdingbankwhich issued such certificates.

Article18

1. Sharecertificates of a commercial shareholding bankmust containthe following principal items:

(a) Nameandmain headquarters of thecommercial shareholdingbank;

(b) Numberanddate of issuance of licencefor establishment and operation;

(c) Number of shares andclass of shares;

(d) Par value of each shareand total valueof number ofsharesstated onthe share certificate;

(e) Name of theshareholder (with named sharecertificates);

(f)Summaryofthe proceduresfortransferring the sharecertificate;

(g) Specimen signature of thelegal representative, and seal of the commercial shareholding bank;

(h) Registerednumber in the shareholdersregisteranddate of issuance of the share certificate;

(i) In addition to the above matters, share certificates for preferential voting shares must also recordthenumberofvotesinaccordancewiththeprovisionsinthecharterofthecommercial shareholding bank.

2. Withinatime-limitofthirty(30)daysfromthedateofcommencementofoperation(inthecaseofa newly-established commercial shareholding bank), or from the date on which the commercial shareholdingbankregisterswiththecompetentStatebodyitsnewchartercapitallevel(inthecase ofacommercialshareholdingbankalreadyoperating),thecommercialshareholdingbankmust issue newshare certificates to shareholders.

Article19

A commercial shareholdingbankmay administer share certificates by retaining them on behalf of shareholders,oritmayissuesharecertificatesattherequestofshareholders. Ifanamedsharecertificate islost,torn,burnt,ordestroyedinanyotherway,theshareholdermustimmediatelynotifythecommercial shareholdingbankandrequestthatitre-issueanothersharecertificateandtheshareholdermustpayafee as regulated by the commercial shareholdingbank.

Article20Payment of dividends

1. Acommercial shareholding bankmay onlypayshareholders adividend whenithasmade abusiness profit, and when it has paidall taxes andother financial obligationsin accordance with law.

2. Atleastthirty(30)dayspriortoeachoccasiononwhichadividendispaid,theboardofmanagement mustpreparealistofshareholderstoreceiveadividend,confirmingtheamountofdividendtobe paidoneachclassofshareandtheperiodandformofpayment. Anoticeofpaymentofdividend mustbepubliclysenttoeachshareholderatleastfifteen(15)dayspriortothedateonwhichthe dividendistobepaid. Suchnoticemustspecifythenameofthecommercialshareholdingbank,the nameandaddressoftheshareholder,thenumbersofeachclassofshareheldbytheshareholder, theamountofdividendtobepaidoneachclassofshare,thetotaldividendtobereceivedbythe shareholder, and the dateand methodofpayment.

3. Withrespecttoashareholderwhichtransfersitssharesintheperiodbetweenthecompletionofthe listofshareholderstoreceiveadividendandthedateofpayment,thetransferorshallbeentitledto receive the dividend fromthe commercial shareholding bank.

Section II. CHARTER CAPITAL

Article21

1. Chartercapital shallbe accounted for inVietnamese dong (VND).

2. Acommercialshareholdingbankmustensurethattheactualamountofchartercapitaldoesnotfall below the legal capital required by law.

Article22⁴

1. Charter capital of a commercial shareholdingbank may beincreased by issuing new share certificates,bybeingsupplementedfromthereservefundforsupplementingchartercapital,orbyre- valuingfixedassets,andfromotherfundsinaccordancewithlaw. Priortoimplementationofsuch methods, both the general meetingof shareholders and the State Bank must provide written approval.

2. In the case where the charter capital of a commercial shareholdingbankis decreased, the amendment shall be dealt with as follows:

2.1. Circumstances in which it is compulsory to decrease chartercapital:

(a) Losses in three consecutive years; thecommercialshareholdingbank must makea decision todecrease its charter capital by the amount of losses accumulated in the third year;

(b) ItemsofinvestmentcapitalaredeterminedordecidedbythecompetentStatebodyto be operational losses afterdeduction of the risks reserve;

(c) Any amount of capital contribution was sourced illegally, or a shareholder made its capitalcontributionotherthaninthecapacityofashareholder,asconcludedbythe Inspectorate;

(d) Are-valuationoffixedassetsinaccordancewithlawresultsinthediminutionoftheir value.

2.2. Inthecircumstancesstipulatedinclause2.1above,thecommercialshareholdingbankmust conveneanextraordinarygeneralmeetingofshareholders,orplaceanitemontheagendaof a regular general meeting of shareholders, for a decision on methods to deal with the decrease, after it has applied other financial methods (using the reserve fundfor supplementingchartercapitaltomakeupthedeficit;contributingadditionalcapitaltoresolve the deficit,and so forth) without successfully resolving the deficit. Any decrease in charter capitalshallbeassociatedwitheitherorbothoftheformsofareductionintheparvalueof shares and areduction inthe number ofshares.

2.3. If, after the reduction, the charter capital remains lower than the legal capital and the commercialshareholdingbankhasnottakenmeasures toovercomethiswithinsixmonths, the State Bank branch shall resolve the issue in accordance with current regulations in the samemanner as for a credit institution withlegal capital below the stipulated level.

Article23

A commercial shareholding bank may not use its charter capital or funds to purchase shares in, or to subscribe capital to, that same bank.

Article24

Chartercapital may be used for the following objectives:

1. Topurchaseorinvestinitsownfixedassets,notexceedingfifty(50)percentofthechartercapital and reserve fund forsupplementingcharter capital;

2. To purchase shares and tosubscribecapitalin accordance with State Bank regulations;

3. To establisha subsidiary company inaccordancewith law;

4. To make loans;

5. To conduct business in other services inaccordancewith law.

Article25

1. The State Bankmustprovide written approval for a commercial shareholding bank to changeitschartercapital.

2.⁵An application file for approval for the change in charter capitalshall comprise:

(a) Submission from the chairman of the board of management (specifying the reasons and necessity for the change);

(b) Minutes of the general meeting of shareholderson the change incharter capital;

(c) Planofchangeinchartercapitalapprovedbythegeneralmeetingofshareholders,specifying at least the following items:

(i) Requirementsfor adecisionon change incharter capital(specifyingtheutilizationof capitalfor each relevant requirement).

(ii) Evaluationofproposedbusinessefficiencyafterchangeinchartercapital;specifyingproposed targetsafterchangeinchartercapitalincludinggrowthrates(intheformofabsolutefigures anddensityproportion)oftotalcurrentassets,credit,mobilizationofdepositsfromclients,and depositsandloansfromothercreditinstitutions;prudentiallimitsintheoperationofthebank; return overequity rate (ROE) and return over assetsrate (ROA).

(iii) Evaluation of the capacity of the board of management and the management to manage, administerandcontrol,andtheinternalcontrolsysteminrespectoftheamountofcapitaland scale of operation after change incharter capital.

(iv) The plan onchangein chartercapitalin a financialyear must specify at least the following items:

- Total forecast changedcharter capital;

- Proposed issue tranches [of shares] inthe year;

- Planofeachissuetranche:subscribersentitledtopurchase[shares],pricesoftheoffer madetoeachcategoryofsubscribers(inacasewheresuchpriceshavenotyetbeen determined,state"notdefinable";however,thepriceoftheoffermustbeconsistentwith theLawonEnterprises);dateofsaleandotherconditions(ifany)relatingtointerests and obligations of subscribers in eachcategory;

- Forecastchangeinthestructureofownershipofshareholdersholding5%ormoreof chartercapitalofthecommercialshareholdingbankaftereachchangeinchartercapital and reasons for suchchange;

(d) List of shareholders currently holding 5% or more of charter capital of the commercial shareholdingbankandproposedchangeofsuchshareholdersaftereachchangeincharter capital,comprisingnamesandaddressesofshareholders,numbersofsharesofeachclass and total number of shares,proportion of[his/hershares to] total chartercapitalofthe bank.

(dd) Summaryreportonstructureoftheboardofmanagementortheboardofcontrollers(ifany)to bechangeduponchangeinchartercapital,inwhichqualificationsandexperienceinbanking operations of each member must be summarized.

(e) Files of shareholdersparticipating in purchase of shares for increase in chartercapital:

(i) In the case of shareholders beingorganizations other than credit institutions which currentlyholdorareexpectedtohold5%ormoreofchartercapitalandshareholders beingcredit institutions:

- Applicationfor purchase of shares with the signature and seal of legal representative (Appendix 1);

- Financial statements forthe year immediately before the year of purchase ofshares.

Inthecaseofforeignorganizations,financialstatementsmustcomplywithCircular07/2007/TT-NHNN of the State Bank dated 29 November2007providingguidelines for implementationofDecree69/2007/ND-CPoftheGovernmentdated20April2007on foreign investorspurchasing shares of Vietnamese commercial banks.

InthecaseofVietnameseorganizations,financialstatementsmustsatisfythefollowing requirements:

+ The prevailing regulations on accounting of the State must be complied with;

+ Financialstatementsshallcompriseabalancesheet,aprofitandlossstatement, a cash flowstatement andnotesto the financial statements;

+ Where a shareholder is a parent company, such shareholder must submit consolidated financial statements inaccordance with the laws on accounting, accompaniedby financial statements of the parent company;

+ Annualfinancialstatementsmustbeauditedbyanindependentauditorincluded inthelistofauditingorganizationsqualifiedforcarryingoutcorporateauditsas published by the Ministry of Finance. Theopinion of the auditor about the financialstatementsmustshowacceptanceofthewhole;wheretheopinionofthe auditorisacceptancewithanexception,suchexceptionmustnotbesubstantial and an explanatory statement of the grounds of suchexception shall be required;

+ Where a file is submitted before 1 March each year, theannual financial statements for the last year in the initial file may be financial statements which have not yet been audited but theaudited financial statements for the year immediatelybeforesuchyearshallberequired,andauditedfinancialstatements for the yearimmediatelybefore the year of purchase of shares shall beadded immediatelywhen they are available;

+ Where theperiod from the last date of the most recent accounting period of financial statements to the date of submission of the valid application file for approvalforthechangeinchartercapitaltotheStateBankismorethanninety (90)days,the shareholdermustprepareadditionalfinancialstatementsuptothe most recent month orquarter;

+ Wherethereareanycontingentchangesaftertheendoftheperiodcoveredby the most recent financial statements, the shareholder must prepareadditional financial statements up tothe most recent month orquarter;

+ Financialstatementswhicharephotocopiesmustbecertifiedbytheauthorized Statebodyortheauditor(wherethefinancialstatementswereaudited)ormust becertifiedbytheshareholdersastruecopies(inthecaseofunauditedfinancial statements).

Whereashareholderdoesnothaveanyfinancialstatementsbecauseithasbeennewly establishedandoperatedintheperiodfrom31Decemberoftheyearbeforetheyearof changeinchartercapitalto1Marchoftheyearofchange,theshareholdermustsubmit thefollowingdocumentsinplaceofthefinancialstatementsspecifiedinthisprovision:a written report on financial capacity of the owner holding the right to control such organization supported by relevantdocuments; and a written undertaking to assume solelegalresponsibilityforthefactthattheshareholderhassufficientfinancialcapacity to makecapital contribution to the bank.

(ii) Inthecaseofanindividualwhocurrentlyorisexpectedtohold5%ormoreofcharter capital:

- Application from the shareholder to purchase shares (Appendix2);

- Declarationofincomeandassetsoftheindividualvaluedatonehundredmillion Dong or more, on the form stipulated in Appendix 3.

(iii) Inthecaseofshareholdersbeing membersoftheboardofmanagementorboardof controllersor managerial personnel of the bank:

Application from the shareholder being a member of the board of management or board of controllersoramanagerialpersonofthebank,topurchaseshares(Appendix2). Wherethe representative of a shareholder being anorganization actsas a member of the boardof management,boardofcontrollersorasamanagerialpersonofthebank,heorsheshallonly be required to prepare anapplication topurchase shares in accordance withAppendix 1.

(g) Other relevantdocumentsin accordancewith law.

3.⁶Acommercialshareholdingbankshallprepareafileinaccordancewithclause2ofthisarticle(two main sets)and submit it to the State Bankbranchof the provinceor city where its headoffice is located.SuchStateBankbranchshallberesponsible,withinten(10)daysfromthedateofreceiptof a complete file from the commercial shareholdingbank:

(a) To verify thefile in accordancewith these Regulations.

(b) Toevaluatetheplanofchangeinchartercapitalintermsofefficiencyofoperationofthebank after change in charter capital, the capacity of the commercial shareholding bank for management, administration and control in respect of the amount of capital and scale of operation after change in charter capital, and thefinancial capacity of shareholders which currently holdorare forecast to hold5% or moreof charter capital and ofany shareholder being acredit institution.

(c) To check the financial capacity of shareholders purchasing shares in terms of the following items:

(i) With respect to shareholders being an organization:

- In the case of credit institutions: After purchase of shares of the commercial shareholding bank, the credit institution must comply with theprevailing regulationsof the State Bank onprudential limits in operation of the credit institution; classificationof debts,contributions made to and utilization of the reserve forcredit risks.

- In the case of organizations other than credit institutions currently holdingor forecast tohold 5% ormore of charter capital of the commercial shareholding bank, theymust ensure that theirequity after deducting long-term investments funded byequity [and] currentassets after deducting current liabilities must at leastbeequaltotheamountofcapitalforpurchaseofsharesofthecommercial shareholding bank (methods of calculation are specified in Appendix4).

The abovenorms shallbe determined on the basis of financial statements of the organization referred to in paragraphe(i) of clause 2of this article.

(ii) Withrespecttoashareholderbeinganindividualwhocurrentlyholdsorisforecastto hold5%ormoreofthechartercapitalofthecommercialshareholdingbank,heorshe mustprovehiscapacity to make capital contribution to the bank by way of declaring personal income andassets referred to in paragraphe(ii) of clause2 of this article.

(d) SubmititsspecificproposaltotheGovernoroftheStateBankforconsideration,specifyingits positionon whether ornot it agrees with the changein charter capital of the commercial shareholdingbank. AfterobtainingtheopinionoftheStateBank,theprovincialStateBank branchshallissuewrittenapprovalforthecommercialshareholdingbanktochangeitscharter capital. Wherethechangeinchartercapitalofthecommercialshareholdingbankhasnotyet beenapprovedorisrefused,theprovincial StateBankbranchshallnotifytheentityinwriting and specify its reasons.

4. A letter of approval to a change incharter capital shall be valid within that financial year.

5. AfterithaschangeditschartercapitalinaccordancewiththeletterofapprovalfromtheStateBank branch,acommercialshareholdingbankmustregisterthenewchartercapitalwiththecompetent Statebodyandmustalsomakeanannouncementincentralandlocalnewspapersinaccordance withlaw. Withinatime-limitoffivedaysatthelatestfromthedateofregistrationwiththecompetent Statebody,thecommercialshareholdingbankmustforward anotarized copyof theletterof approval togetherwithalistoftheshareholderswhocontributedthenewcapitalandalistofallshareholders after the change in charter capital tothe State Bank of Vietnam (Department of Banks and Non-Banking Credit Institutions atthe placewhere it hasits head office).⁷

6. Theboardofmanagementofacommercialshareholdingbankshall beresponsiblebeforethelawfor evaluatingfilesandfortheproceduresandconditionstoapproveshareholderssubscribingcapitalin accordancewith the requirements of this Decision.