Real estate conglomerate Vingroup, owned by the only Vietnamese billionaire in Forbes list, has told the Minister of Transport it wants to buy a stake in each of the country’s largest seaports.

Vingroup seeks to become the strategic investors of the Saigon Port in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong Port in the namesake city in the north.

The ports are under the management of the Viet Nam National Shipping Lines, commonly known as Vinalines.

Piles of containers are seen at the Hai Phong Port

Vingroup is chaired by Pham Nhat Vuong, the wealthiest individual in Viet Nam and the only Vietnamese representative in the 2015 Forbes Billionaire List released Monday, with a net worth of 1.7 billion USD.

The company has proposed to acquire an 80% stake of Hai Phong Port at a price that is no less than the average successful bidding price.

Vingroup also wants to own 80% of the Ho Chi Minh City-based port at a price that is no less than the IPO price, and join in developing the privatization plan for the port.

Vingroup has said it wants to operates, manages and explores the ports if the stake acquisition is approved. The company will employ the modern administrative management models for the ports to increase its unloading capacity and business effectiveness.

Newswire VnExpress said a high-ranking official from the transport ministry recently confirmed Vingroup’s proposal.

If approved, it will be the largest-ever deal in regard of seaports in Viet Nam.

Under the plan to privatize the country’s seaports and airplanes, the minimum stake the government should hold in the facilities is 51 %.

The proposition to acquire as much as 80 % of the port of Vingroup thus requires the decision from the Prime Minister.