Daiwa Securities Group Inc has raised its stake in Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) to 20.39 per cent from 19.66 per cent through a purchase of 3.68 million SSI shares.

The number of purchased shares was equivalent to 31 per cent of its total registered 11.91 million shares. The transactions were carried out between April 19 and May 18. The Japanese company attributed the modest purchase to unsuitable prices.

SSI shares, which are traded on the HCM Stock Exchange, lost about 20 per cent in value during the purchase period, falling from VND41,500 (US$1.82) per share to about VND33,000 apiece.

After the deal, Daiwa Securities holds over 101.98 million SSI shares, equivalent to a 20.39 per cent stake in the Vietnamese company. Earlier, in March this year, Daiwa Securities also registered to buy over 22.8 million shares of SSI.

SSI is Viet Nam’s biggest securities company in terms of market value (nearly VND16 trillion based on its share price on May 22) and charter capital (over VND5 trillion by the end of 2017). — VNS