Foreign owned accounts at securities companies on the rise

More and more foreign investors have decided to make money on Vietnam’s stock market. Statistics show that the number of foreign owned accounts opened at securities companies is increasing.

According to the HCM City Securities Trading Centre (HSTC), nearly 5,000 foreign owned individual accounts have been opened at HSTC member securities companies. The owners of the accounts mostly are Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Singaporean. The largest number of foreign investors on Vietnam’s stock market proves to come from Japan.

Nguyen Hong Nam, Deputy Director General of the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI), said that some 2,000 foreigners’ accounts had been opened at SSI, 70% of which are Japanese owned.

BVSC, DVSC and Rong Viet all have reported an increased number of new foreign individual accounts, which account for 30% of the new accounts. Experts said that the new wave of foreign investment had been refreshing the stock market.

Vietnam’s stock market has become attractive in the eyes of foreign investors. Vietnam’s national economy is performing well, while the stock market is developing, which promises more profitable investment deals than developed markets.

In fact, the profit made by foreign securities investors in Vietnam has been increasing considerably. In his recent visit to Vietnam, John Stuttard, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, said that the gigantic development of the stock market had caught the special attention of British financial investors.

Nguyen Chi Trung, Director of the Brokerage Division under the Rong Viet Securities Company, said that if foreign investors kept trading as currently, the stock market would rally. Now, foreign investment funds are increasing their demand for securities, and they are especially targeting the IPOs of many big banks and corporations scheduled for the coming time.

VinaCapital said that it had estimated the sum of money to be disbursed, and has given a forecast about the auctioning price of Bao Viet shares. Mekong Capital has presented its third fund before the public, the $100mil Vietnam Azalea, which will focus on equitised companies in Vietnam. Mekong hopes to close the fund soon and begin the investment period, expected for the end of May.

Experts said that the demand of foreign investors was increasing. However, they will have to restructure their investment portfolios and look for new commodities, as there is no more room for foreign ownership in big companies like REE, SAM, STB and VNM.

Source: VNE