Vinh Long Import-Export Company will be the first rice exporter to make an initial public offering (IPO) on the local stock market, according to newspaper Vietnam News Monday.

The company, which to issue nearly 1.7 million shares, equaling to some 37 percent of its equity, will make the IPO in the securities trading center of southern Ho Chi Minh City on May 30. Of the shares to be issued, there are 1.35 million ones for foreign investors, the newspaper said.

After the IPO, Vietnam will continue to hold 51 percent stake in the company, while employees would hold 11.92 percent.

The company, which annually exports about 100,000 tons of rice, mainly to the Philippines, Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East, is one of the largest enterprises in the southern Vinh Long province.

Used to mainly export agricultural products and seafood, it is now to diversify into other fields. The company posted revenues of 283 billion VND (about 17.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2006 and is expected to gain revenues of 356.4 billion VND (22.3 million dollars) this year.

Vietnam exported 4.7 million tons of rice totaling 1.3 billion dollars last year, according to the country's General Statistics Office.