The government is selling a 6.5 percent stake with minimum bids of 100,000 dong (US$6.24) per share. Foreigners are allowed to buy 30 percent of the 97.5 million shares. Bids averaged between 105,000 dong and 110,000 dong with more than half counted as of about 4 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to Nguyen Thu Ha, deputy chief executive of the Hanoi-based bank.

The auction shows Vietnam's commitment to its share-sale program, called equitization by the ruling Communist Party. The decision to carry out the sale, delayed from an earlier target date of August, suggests plans to sell stakes in two more banks as well as telephone and beer companies in 2008 are on track.