Traditional matches producer to delist

Matches producer Thong Nhat Match Jsc will delist its shares this month since the number of its shareholders has fallen below the minimum requirement of 100.

They will be delisted on October 21, the Hanoi Stock Exchange announced. It had only 45 shareholders as of the end of last year, according to the company’s annual report.

The 64-year old company ceased matches production after sales slumped this year and instead switched to importing from India. It had said last year the popularity of lighters was largely to blame for falling demand for matches. Besides, the cost of wood was rising and its outdated equipment could no longer make matches cost-efficiently, it said.

The company now focuses on producing lighters. Its profit fell 58 percent last year to VND920 million ($39,600). Thong Nhat Match was established in 1956 as a state-owned company with a factory in northern Vietnam. It was equitized in 2002, and has charter capital of VND22 trillion ($950 million).

Like other traditional companies Thuy Ta Ice-cream and Thuong Dinh Footwear, all over 60 years old, it too has been struggling to grow in the modern competitive market.