Review on prices of Vietnamese fund certificates

Friday, May 16, 2008
The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) now has three listed fund certificates including MAFBF1 of Manulife Vietnam Fund Management Co, PRUBF1 of Prudential Balanced Investment Fund and VFMVF1 of Vietnamese Securities Investment Fund. Unlike previous assessments on growth potentials and investment opportunities of Vietnam funds, all of three fund certificates are facing seriously difficult period.

Recent slumps of fund certificates showed that insurance firms were unlucky with their own investment portfolio on the stock market.

Two codes of MAFBF1 and PRUBF1 welcomed the 2008 new year with the trading price equalling to the face value only. During the first session of 2008, PRUBF1 closed at 10,500 dong each that plunged to 9,600 dong on January 15.

MAFBF1 went public in the end of 2007 and recorded the price of 9,800 dong per unit in first sessions of February 2008.

Starting the year with the price of 27,400 dong per unit, VFMVF1 showed its strength clearly as compared with new fund certificates. However, VFMVF1 also was around the threshold of 30,000 dong each that was closed at below 20,000 dong on February 29 and then lower 15,000 dong in the following month. With a fall of 200 dong a day during the last 10 sessions, VFMVF1 is hard to return the level of over face value in June 2008.

In theory, investments into the stock market through professional operations of securities investment funds are effective option for small individual investors because funds are experienced in financial investments with effective information solution and risk control. It is now questioned why prices of fund certificates slide deeper recently.

In March, VF1 reported the net asset value (NAV) of over 2.58 trillion dong with total 100 million fund units while MAFBF1 also recorded the NAV of 9,355 dong/unit on April 10, 2008. (DDDN)