Bank shares help boost trades

HA NOI — Stocks slid yesterday in both HCM City and Ha Noi as investors rushed to realise profits following three successive days of gains. However, banking shares performed strongly, following the Government's decision to extend the deadline for commercial banks to meet stricter minimum capital requirements.

Banks now have until December 31, 2011, to register charter capital of at least VND3 trillion (US$141.7 million).

Eximbank (EIB), Vietinbank (CTG), Vietcombank (VCB), Ha Noi Housing Bank (HBB) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) all jumped to their ceiling prices, while Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) rose by 6.2 per cent and Sacombank (STB) gained 4.3 per cent.

HBB, with over 16 million shares sold, and STB, with nearly 15 million, were also the two most-active shares nationwide.

The requirement for banks to increase capital was the right policy and one with long-term value, said the head of the Supervisory and Inspection Department of the State Bank of Viet Nam, Duong Quoc Anh .

However, investor disinterest in banking shares over a long period had caused difficulties for many in issuing shares to raise capital, Anh said.

"The Government's decision will alleviate the pressure of increased share supplies on the stock market and help bank shares regain their value," commented an analyst with SME Securities Co who asked to remain anonymous, noting that shares in the banking sector had been the year's biggest decliners.

On the HCM City Stock Exchange yesterday, the VN-Index closed down overall by 0.12 per cent to end the session at 489.65. The value of the day's trades topped VND3.28 trillion (US$156.2 million) with 135 million shares exchanged – the highest volume this year and the second most-active day in the market's 10-year history.

While gains in blue chips such as Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) and Vincom Co (VIC) helped cushion the decline, losers nevertheless outnumbered advancers at the ratio of 197-52.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange yesterday, the HNX-Index backed off by 1.77 per cent to close at 119.61. Both market volume and value doubled Monday's levels, reaching an all-time record for this market of 111 million shares worth VND2.26 trillion ($107.6 million).

Foreign investors were net buyers in HCM City, picking up over 7.5 million shares worth VND217 billion ($10.3 million), but they were net sellers in Ha Noi by a net of just VND1.65 billion ($78,600).

Source: vnagency.com.vn