Wednesday, 2 April 2008
ADB forecasts 7% growth for Vietnam
VN-Index hints at turnaround
(31-03-2008)
Investors eye the board at Habubank Securities in Ha Noi. Markets rallied modestly for three consecutive days last week. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet |
HA NOI — With the a tighter daily trading band announced last Tuesday and put into effect on Thursday, shares rallied modestly for three consecutive days last week, with many market watchers saying that confidence was gradually returning in the market.
The VN-Index closed on Friday at 512.70 with most codes hitting their ceiling price. This was off last week’s close of 545.68.
Over the course of the week, eight codes saw gains, while 136 declined and nine remained unchanged.
Trading value on the week was shy of VND2.6 trillion on a volume of only 50.8 million shares, 40 per cent less than volumes in the previous week. The loss was blamed on the tighter daily trading band’s restriction on market liquidity.
The VN-Index fell below 500 at the close of trading on Tuesday morning, ending the day at only 495.02, spurring the State Securities Commission to institute the tighter trading band as a measure to stanch further losses.
The commission narrowed the daily trading band from 5 per cent to one per cent, plus or minus, on the HCM City Stock Exchange, and from 10 per cent to 2 per cent at the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre.
On Wednesday, the last day of trading without the restricted trading band, the VN-Index broke back above 500.
This, and the subsequent two days of gains, surprised many analysts who had expected investors to hastily sell off their shares. Only foreign investors behaved as predicted, becoming net sellers on Thursday and Friday.
In the history of Viet Nam’s stock market, the daily trading band was changed five times between 2000 and 2002. In June 2001, the State Securities Commission loosened the trading band from 2 per cent to 7 per cent. The VN-Index rallied for six consecutive sessions before plummeting to a record low of 203 points.
The commission once again narrowed the trading band from seven per cent to two per cent in October 2001 with a view to curbing inflation and making investors feel more secure. The adjustment caused many investors to simply hold onto their shares, resulting in low trading volume, and it took the VN-Index 19 consecutive trading sessions to climb back nearly 300 points.
To ease the oversupply of shares on the stock market, the State Bank has also required commercial banks not to sell off shares they hold as collateral and help reduce losses they would suffer if they sold.
Decreasing the number of shares on the market and increasing compulsory reserve requirements imposed on commercial banks, if handled smoothly, would also help ensure the payment capacity of banks and balance the supply and demand of shares. — VNS
Malaysia bank buys stake in local securities firm
(31-03-2008)
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s RHB Investment Bank, the investment arm of RHB Banking Group, will buy a 49-per-cent stake in Viet Nam Securities Co for about US$4.15 million, under an agreement announced by the bank on Saturday.
The move would mark RHB Banking Group’s entry into Viet Nam, Asia’s second fastest-growing economy after China, the announcement stated.
The bank further said that the partnership was timely as Viet Nam was entering a new phase of development, characterised by liberalisation of markets and the opening up of its economy to foreign trade and investment.
Viet Nam Securities Co is licensed to engage in securities brokerage, financial and investment consultanting services, investment portfolio management and securities depository services. — VNS
VN-Index rebounds for fourth day
(01-04-2008)
Ha Noi Securities Trade Centre employees hard at work yesterday. The VN-Index continued a modest rally on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Hai |
HA NOI — The HCM City Stock Exchange yesterday continued its controlled rally of the past several days, with the VN-Index once again nearly bumping its head on the recently-instituted one-per-cent daily trading band to close at 516.85, an increase of 4.51 points or 0.81 per cent.
The value of the day’s trades was a very modest VND149.38 billion (US$9.3 million) on a volume of 2.7 million shares, a fall of 28 per cent in value from Friday’s already meagre session.
Agribank Securities analyst Dao Van Khanh said, "The tight trading band is making turnover narrower. But, more importantly, it’s making the remaining investors more enthusiastic about trading."
All 153 codes advanced within the maximum trading band of 1 per cent.
Khanh said that the narrow band should be kept in place for a while longer as there was no good news on the horizon to stabilise the market long-term.
According to analysts of EuroCapital Securities, the recovery of the market was also being spurred by official buys this week by the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC).
Minister of Finance Vu Van Ninh last week acknowledged the SCIC’s role in the stock market, saying at that time, "the SCIC is creating a separate fund to invest in securities and then the buying will begin next week."
"Investors should direct their investments based on business results of listed firms. They can then avoid losses when the trading band is loosened," said EuroCapital analysts.
FPT led the market yesterday in trading volume, with 281,820 shares changing hands.
According to Nguyen Khanh Tung, a broker with Hoa Binh Securities, the strong buy of this share yesterday was probably due to good news in the company’s shareholder meeting on Sunday.
"There should be a very good business result or high dividend payment from FPT, I guess. That’s why investors traded heavily in FPT today," Tung said.
In Ha Noi, the HASTC-Index yesterday advanced 2.85 per cent to 181.43. About 693,800 shares changed hands on a turnover of VND29.5 billion ($1.8 million). — VNS
VN-Index continues slow recovery
(02-04-2008)
A woman walks beneath an electronic board displaying stock market information at OceanBank in Ha Noi.— VNS Photo Doan Tung |
HA NOI — The HCM City stock market continued its slow march back from the abyss, and the VN-Index yesterday advanced another 0.80 per cent to 520.99, a modest increase of 4.14 points.
Many market analysts and investors, however, were already beginning to grumble that the newly-tightened daily trading band was too restrictive on market growth and liquidity.
Trading value and volume yesterday appeared to bear out that position, with the day’s trades totalling only VND85.68 billion (US$5.35 million) on an anaemic volume of 1.6 million shares, a slump of over 40 per cent from Monday’s session.
All shares gained on the day, however, except for Trans-Forwarding and Warehousing Co (TMS), for which trading was suspended due to yesterday’s exdate for dividend eligibility.
Ha Noi Securities broker Huynh Quang said, "With the trading band at just 1 per cent, trading levels are not significant. Though the buys are outnumbering sell orders on the exchange, the total number of shares changing hands is low. We are neglecting to notice the fact that investors right now are simply not selling shares."
Foreign investors were also net buyers yesterday to the tune of VND750 million.
Quang wanted to see a re-loosening of the trading band but only after a time as investors have not yet calmed down from the recent market decline.
"No good news is coming, so a loosening could cause another shock to investors if it comes right now."
Nguyen Thanh Ky, general secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Securities Business, said, "Authorities never wanted to use a method that makes the market less attractive and lose liquidity, but the recent fall was becoming too serious."
He said re-loosening the daily trading band would now depend on how much the market appeared to be recovering, and on investor psychology.
In Ha Noi, the HASTC-Index also closed up, largely to the extent of the trading band, gaining 1.64 per cent to end the day at 184.41. Trading volume was 568,500 shares with a value of VND25.5 billion ($1.6 million). — VNS
Asian trade promotion forum coming to Hanoi
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 14:46:21 Vietnam (GMT+07)
A forum to promote trade in Asia will kick off Thursday in Hanoi. It will be the first forum of its kind ever hosted in Vietnam and will be held by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade).
The forum will hear presentations by representatives from Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.
Members from Hanoi’s business community will participate in discussions about challenges and measures for trade promotion.
According to Vietrade, the four-day forum will be an opportunity for Vietnam to gain trade promotion experience while cooperating with 21 member organizations of the agency.
The Asian Trade Promotion Forum initiated its first meeting in 1987.
Stocks stretch winning streak to fifth straight session
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 13:39:23 Vietnam (GMT+07)
Investors watching the rally gain momentum Tuesday at the HCMC-based securities firm SSI
With investors confident of a recovery, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rallied for the fifth day in a row Tuesday.
The VN-Index gained 4.14 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 520.99.
Trading volume was again fairly low with just 1.5 million shares changing hands.
A HCMC broker said: “Most investors holding shares are not willing to sell since prices are only moving by 1 percent a day.
“Other investors, who believe the market is poised for a strong recovery, are in a hurry to buy, worrying they will miss the opportunity to buy at low prices before the 5 percent daily band is reinstated.”
The State Securities Commission has temporarily narrowed the intraday trading band from 5 percent to 1 percent, in an effort to apply the brake on the plummeting market.
The broker added that investors were also waiting for companies’ first quarter earnings reports.
Of the 153 stocks in the index, 152 gained and the other remained unchanged.
Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, the only listed bank on the market, gained VND300 to close at VND37,400.
The HCMC-based lender, commonly known as Sacombank, has informed the exchange that eight of its directors will together buy 1,145,000 shares today.
Bien Hoa Confectionary added VND500 to finish at VND69,000.
Citigroup Global Market Ltd. & Citigroup Global Market Financial Product Ltd. have reduced their stake in the confectionary maker to 4.8 percent by selling 36,000 shares.
Binh Thanh Import – Export Product and Trade went up by VND200 to close at VND26,700.
Ben Thanh Material Joint-Stock Company was set to buy 100,000 shares of Binh Thanh to raise its stake to 6.35 percent, the exchange said on its Web site.
The purchase, beginning today, will be wrapped up by June 30.
Lu Gia Mechanical Electric went up by VND400 to VND46,500.
Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment plans to increase its holding in Lu Gia to 33.33 percent by buying 500,000 shares starting tomorrow.
Foreign investors, in contrast to local investors, remained net sellers again, selling securities worth VND8 billion (US$500,000).
The rally continued on the Hanoi stock exchange too, with the HASTCIndex adding 2.98 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 184.41.
ANZ to raise stake in Saigon Securities
Tuesday, April 1, 2008 11:41:59 Vietnam (GMT+07)
ANZ to raise stake in Saigon Securities
Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., will buy more shares in Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), Vietnam’s top brokerage, to raise its stake to 12.5 percent, the stock exchange said Monday.
ANZ, which owns 10 percent of the Ho Chi Minh City-based brokerage, would buy 3,416,700 shares over the next two months starting on Tuesday, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said.
Last Friday, SSI chief operating officer said the company would have to revise down its profit forecast for 2008 due to weak stock market conditions.
Japanese brokerage Daiwa Securities Group has a 1.25 percent stake in SSI.
Vietnam caps foreign ownership at 49 percent of a listed company while the ceiling for a listed bank is 30 percent.