[THE INVESTOR] CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings on Nov. 7 announced that it has dropped its plans to go public.

“We conducted a demand forecast for listing but found that it would be difficult for our company to get a proper valuation (that we expected),” a CJ CGV official said in a statement. 

As the top theater operator in Vietnam, it originally hoped to raise 107.99 billion won (US$96.42 million) to 131.99 billion by listing its 5.7 million shares on Korea’s benchmark bourse KOSPI. The Vietnam unit currently operates 46 theaters, which account for more than 50 percent market share in the country. Its sales in the first quarter reached 74.9 billion won, posting an operating profit of 7.4 billion won.

The firm had originally set its subscription period for Nov. 7-8, but canceled the schedule and submitted related documents to withdraw the IPO. According to the company, the lead managers, Shinhan Investment and Hanwha Investment & Securities, agreed to drop the IPO plans.

Industry sources say that the low demand from investors is possibily due to the sharp volatility of KOSPI. Investors are very cautious as they are not very sure of a major rebound given the continuing trade tensions between the US and China.

The holding firm, a special vehicle based in the British Virgin Islands, currently operates the largest multiplex chain in Vietnam through its subsidiary CJ CGV Vietnam. Currently, CJ CGV holds an 80 percent stake in the Vietnamese subsidiary, with the remaining 20 percent being held by a local partner.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)