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| A scene at Ha Noi Securities Trading Center. International analysts say Viet Nam is slow in handling bad debts— VNS Photo Viet Thanh |
HA NOI — After a long holiday, the Vietnamese stock market rallied during two sessions last week.
According to the State Bank of Viet Nam, credit growth declined in January but has been increasing since February. It is reported to have reached 1.4 per cent on April 23 compared to the end of last year.
"Although growth was slow, it improved a lot compared to the same period last year," said PetroVietnam Securities Co analyst Dao Hong Duong.
The market became more active on Friday as the Government and related agencies discussed in more detail the establishment of Viet Nam Asset Management. This led to a strong rise in real-estate shares.
Meanwhile, international analysts allege that Viet Nam is slow in handling bad debts. With a starting capital of US$24 million, Reuters said "that's puny in comparison with the bad-debt problem that is shackling almost every part of Viet Nam's ".
The VN-Index on the HCM City Stock Exchange advanced 0.43 per cent over the previous Friday's close to reach 475.24 points. Blue chips tracked by the VN30 and several penny stocks witnessed high rises.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, there was a strong rally for PetroVietnam Construction (PVX), Vinaconex (VCG), Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Sacomreal (SCR). The HNX-Index closed the week at 59.06 points, a 1.2 per cent increase.
However, trading last week was sluggish. The total value of the two trading days stayed at VND1 trillion in HCM City and just VND270 billion in Ha Noi. The average figures declined 31 per cent in the south and 15 per cent in the north.
Foreign investors were net buyers on the southern exchange by a margin of VND173 billion. However, the majority (VND160 billion) of the transactions were in shares for the Masan Group (MSN) through negotiation.
If these deals are excluded, the net buy value reached only VND13 billion.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, foreign investors turned to be net sellers with VND300 million.
The market was in a cumulative period, Duong said, advising investors not to sell shares because a growth period would come.
Meanwhile, FPT Securities analysts predict the VN-Index will maintain its slight uptrend in the 470-480 point range -and that the HNX-Index will decrease to around 55-57 points. — VNS