Ban on trading gold through foreign accounts

Ban on trading gold through foreign accounts

QĐND – Friday, January 08, 2010, 19:0 (GMT+7)

All gold trading activities via foreign accounts had been banned with the exception of any further trades needed t pay off contracts and close the accounts, the State Bank of Vietnam announced on its website on January 7.

All foreign gold accounts must be terminated by March 30.

Last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered all gold trading floors to be banned as of March 31, 2010. The order requires that all gold trading floors and all domestic accounts for gold trading to be terminated by that date.

With the new regulations, the State Bank of Vietnam will oversee all trading of the precious metal.

Source: VNA

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

PM suspends public gold trading

PM suspends public gold trading

QĐND – Monday, January 04, 2010, 21:5 (GMT+7)

All public gold trading floors will be banned effective March 31, 2010, under a recent order by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The order requires all gold trading floors to be shut down and all domestic investor accounts terminated by that date, after which time the State Bank of Vietnam will assume oversight of all trades in the precious metal.

The order also requires the central bank to suspend all 2006 regulations allowing gold trading via accounts abroad.

Jewellery businesses will still be allowed to sell gold jewellery, but the State Bank will draft new regulations limiting how gold can be traded in this form.

After over two years of unregulated trading in gold, the Government has decided to clamp down on what has become a chaotic market driven by speculative behaviour. Gold trading is also undercutting official efforts to regulate monetary policy and stabilise the economy.

“The shutdown is necessary, but had it come sooner in 2008, the costs could have been reduced,” said a representative of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI). “Many trading centres have been set up, taking a large investment of capital to build up staff and infrastructure.”

Investors would lose an investment channel, but the State would have one less factor to regulate, said Nguyen Thanh Toai, deputy director of Asia Commercial Bank, the nation’s first credit institution to establish a gold trading floor in Viet Nam.

Black-market gold trading in the past had rattled the authorities, Toai said, which is why they moved the illegal gold trading from the dark alleys into the light of lawful gold trading centres in which it could be monitored and regulated. But now, he said, they were returning it again to the darkness.

Another director of a HCM City based gold trading centre, who asked to remain anonymous, worried that investors might now illegally set up accounts abroad to trade gold online as they used to do before gold trading centres were set up in Viet Nam, causing more dollars to drain out of the domestic economy.

The State Bank of Vietnam had submitted to the Government two proposals for better managing gold trading centres, including closing them down or raising required security deposit rates to 100 per cent.

The resulting shutdown order will affect about 20 gold trading bourses.

There are centres operated by banks, requiring investors to open accounts at the bank; bourses set up by credit institutions or securities companies, requiring investors to deposit money directly with the organisation operating the bourse; and centres allowing institutions and investors to trade gold for gold abroad using US dollars.

Source: Vietnam+

Source: QDND Bookmark & Share

Index idle on mixed trading

An investor monitors trades at the offices of Click&Phone Securities Co. Stock indices yesterday closed little changed on continued mixed trading. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — The VN-Index yesterday edged up 0.76 per cent to close at 540.19 points, in continued mixed trading on the HCM City Stock Exchange.

Trading volume fell slightly to 51.5 million shares on a total revenue of VND2.4 trillion (US$134.8 million). Sacombank (STB) was the most active share, with a volume of 4.3 million, representing 8 per cent of the total market volume on the day.

Newcomers Viet Nam Real Estate (VNI), Hoang Long Group (HLG) and Van Phat Hung (VPG) were among the top gainers yesterday, all advancing 5 per cent; while banking and financial shares Vietcombank (VCB), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and PetroVietnam Finance (PVF) each lost value under pressure from strong sales.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange yesterday, the HNX-Index closed little changed at 167.34 points, a negligible gain of 0.19 per cent, as banking shares Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) also lost ground.

Trading volume on the northern bourse improved slightly to 28 million shares, worth a combined VND 911.1 billion ($51.2 million). Kim Long Securities (KLS) continued as market leader, with 2.3 million shares changing hands, followed closely by Vinaconex Group (VCG), with 1.7 million.

Quach Manh Hao, director of analysis at Thang Long Securities Co, said that September lacked any clear signals of a strong market increase. There would be a long time during which, he said, different groups of shares would take turns to shine.

While Vietcombank Securities analysts said moves in banking and financial shares were now unknown, third-quarter business results would have a significant influence on their trends towards the end of the year.

There were few factors supporting market growth in the short term, as global stock markets – especially US and Chinese exchanges – were still facing potential instability, while domestic good news, from positive corporate results to a higher credit growth target affirmed by the State Bank and another possible economic stimulus package, were all reflected in current share prices, said the Kim Eng Securities Co analysis department.

The company changed its rating for the VN-Index from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’. But a Kim Eng report said it was still optimistic about long-term prospects of the domestic bourse and might raise its assessment from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ within the next few months.

On the HCM City exchange yesterday, net sales by foreign investors narrowed to VND13.5 billion ($758,400) from Wednesday’s VND77.3 billion ($4.3 million), on a net volume of 810,300 shares. In Ha Noi, foreign investors continued as net buyers of 495,600 shares, worth a total of VND19.3 billion ($1.1 million). —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

VN-Index slips on mixed trading

Investors place orders at the offices of VNDIrect Securities Co. – VNA/VNS Photo Pham Hau

HA NOI — The VN-Index yesterday slid a slight 0.32 per cent to close at 536.11 points, with mixed activity on the HCM City Stock Exchange.

The value of the day’s trade reached VND2.6 billion (US$146.1 million), as the trading volume increased 18 per cent over Tuesday’s session to 55.1 million shares.

Most-active Sacombank (STB) generated orders for 4.3 million shares, while newly-listed Ntaco Joint Stock Co (ATA) posted the sharpest gain of the day, up 5 per cent.

Viet Nam Real Estate (VNI), Hoang Long Group (HLG) and Van Phat Hung Co (VPH) all hit the ceiling of the regulated trading band of 20 per cent in their debut on the southern bourse yesterday.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange yesterday, the HNX-Index was off 0.48 per cent to end the day at 167.02 points. Trading volume slightly improved to 27.1 million shares on a total revenue of VND966.1 billion ($54.3 million).

Activity on the northern market continued to concentrate on Kim Long Securities (KLS), with 3.6 million shares changing hands, and Vinaconex Group (VCG), with 1.8 million. Military Insurance Co (MIC) gained the most sharply, at nearly 7 per cent.

Viet Capital Securities Co said in a report that money flows were still in the market and investors were eyeing shares with high profitability prospects in the short term, in areas such as sugar, basic materials and steel.

Viet Nam International Securities Co analysts said that demand had maintained significantly, and that investor sentiment had gradually stabilised, signalling positive market developments over the next few days.

Investor confidence was supported by recent advantageous moves on the global stock markets, as well as a new Business International Monitor forecast that the domestic economy would grow 4.5 per cent this year, instead of a previous estimate of 2.9 per cent.

Nguyen Thanh The, an analyst at the DoBF securities training centre, said that the VN-Index would possibly continue to adjust downwards this week, but affirmed that such downward moves would not last long, as investors were willing to pick up shares when the prices fell to attractive levels. He added that economic rallies were facilitating significant growth as well as profitability prospects of listed firms involved in real estate and construction.

In HCM City yesterday, foreign investors continued as net sellers of 1.7 million shares, with a net value of VND77.3 billion ($4.3 million). In Ha NoI, foreigners finished the day as net buyers of 114,800 shares, worth VND3.6 billion ($202,000). —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

Trading band for dong widened

HA NOI — The State Bank of Viet Nam widened the daily trading band for the dong yesterday from 2 per cent to plus or minus 3 per cent.

The change, intended to make the currency more export friendly, was the fourth for the year as the central bank attempts to deal with the volatile fluctuations on both domestic and global foreign-exchange markets.

The decision, effective from today, is also designed to closely reflect foreign-currency supply and demand and to reduce the burgeoning trade deficit.

The band was plus or minus 0.5 per cent at the start of January and before this year the central bank made only minuscule changes to it.

Viet Nam paid US$70.06 billion for imports in the first ten months of the year against total foreign-currency income of $53.77 billion.

The trade deficit was $16.29 billion and in October alone, it totalled $700 million.

Demand for the dollar is forecast to further increase as foreign investors transfer money from Viet Nam to their own countries or mother corporations.

Interbank rate

The daily interbank rate was VND16,511 to the US dollar yesterday.

Vietcombank listed its buying-selling prices at VND16,850/16,841 to the dollar or the upper limit of the prevailing plus or minus 2 per cent trading band.

On the street, the dollar sold for more than VND17,000.

“The US dollar and the dong is likely to be traded at close to the upper limit of the trading band – plus 2 per cent above the daily interbank rate – because of the increasing demand for the green back,” forecast HCM City Economic Research Institute director Tran Du Lich.

“A more expensive dollar [against the dong] will help the Government to reduce imports,” he said.

But several importers assumed the dollar’s appreciation against the dong would be limited.

“Consumers are still tightening their belts and demand in general, but for imports in particular, has fallen heavily, ” said Nguyen Ba Anh, the general director of the Ha Noi-based computer-electronics importer ACB.

“If imported goods cost more, demand may go even lower.

“Import companies may reduce their imported goods and the dollar may not hit the upper limits of the trading band.”

Stimulus

The widening of the trading band is part of the State Bank of Viet Nam’s effort to stimulate economic growth.

The central bank has taken series of monetary-policy decision in the past three weeks to free more money into the market.

Domestic banks now have an estimated $5.94 billion to lend.

The global economic turmoil has forced the Viet Nam Government to revise its yearly growth estimate to 6.7 per cent and after monthly inflation dropped 0.19 per cent in October financial planners are preparing to prevent deflation.

Other Asian countries are also likely to shift their focus from defeating inflation to sustaining growth.

Several Asian central banks have devalued their local currency to promote their exports.

The prime interest rate for the US dollar is now at 1 per cent and the currency is estimated to have depreciated about 10 per cent against euro; 5.51 per cent against Thai baht; 3.11 per cent against the Singapore dollar and 7.02 per cent against Malaysia ringgit so far this year. —

US delegation visits securities trading centre

Hanoi (VNA) – US Senator Richard Shelby led a delegation to visit the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre (HaSTC) and opened the HaSTC’s 669th trading session on August 22.

The same day, Vu Bang, Chairman of the State Securities Commission (SCC), worked with the visiting US senators and the leadership of HaSTC.

The two sides exchanged views on issues relating to the development of the Vietnamese securities market and Vietnam-US cooperation in the field in the recent past, and discussed a plan for cooperation in the future.

SCC Chairman Bang thanked the US agencies and organisations for their assistance to develop Vietnam’s securities sector and expressed his wish for further growth of the two countries’ cooperation.-

A brief history of trading band adjustments

The trading band for both the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC) will be widened once again today.

The State Securities Commission’s Thursday decision sets HOSE’s new trading band at 5 per cent and HASTC’s at 7.

The trading band represents the amount that listed shares can rise or fall within a single trading day.

The expansion is the ninth trading band adjustment since the stock market began sessions in 2000. Since, then band adjustments have served as a barometer for market conditions within the country.

July 28, 2000: The first time the trading band was altered, the State Securities Commission tightened it from the planned 5 per cent to 2 per cent. The new band applied in the very first trading session of the stock market.

The VN-Index started at 100 points, and after a year with an adjusted 2 per cent band, it rose to 571 points.

June 13, 2001: The commission decided to widen the band from 2 to 7 per cent, plus or minus. The stock market saw rapid growth during 6 consecutive sessions. Subsequently, the VN-Index dropped to a record low of 203 points on October 12, 2001.

October 15, 2001: As a result of broad panic on the stock market, the trading band was changed a third time. Securities regulators decided to make a dramatic move by tightening control over shares, narrowing the band to 2 per cent, plus or minus, from the previous 7 per cent.

The commission also decided to reduce the tranche of shares from 100 to 10 and to increase the trading session number to six days a week, instead of three.

As a result, the VN-Index advanced consistently for 19 sessions, but then began dropping back.

August 1, 2002: The trading band was loosened from 2 to 3 per cent and the VN-Index still declined.

December 23, 2002: The commission resumed a 5 per cent trading band to encourage more exchanges. The stock market experienced strong growth during the 2005-2007 period.

March 27, 2008: Impacted by the fluctuation of both local and global economies, the nation’s stock market began to suffer. Investors began selling shares en masse, incurring huge losses. Securities regulators once again intervened in the market by reducing the band to 1 per cent from 5 per cent on HOSE, and 2 per cent from 10 per cent on HASTC.

As a result, the VN-Index rose for several sessions. The action prevented share dumping, but liquidity was lost.

April 7, 2008: Due to lack of market liquidity, an imbalance arose between share supply and demand, so the commission cautiously loosened the band by one percentage point for both bourses.

The VN-Index continued its up-trend and then went into a consistent falling pattern, though liquidity improved somewhat.

June 16, 2008: The band was loosened by one percentage point yet again, as Government efforts toward stabilising the economy began showing the first signs of success.

Accordingly, shares listed on HOSE were traded at around 3 per cent of a single day’s preference price, plus or minus. On HASTC, shares fluctuated within 4 per cent.

The VN-Index fell in 3 consecutive sessions to its lowest level yet, 368 points, on June 20. After that it rebounded and continued gradual gains, with the occasional downturn as investors unloaded shares to turn a profit.

August 18, 2008: Shares listed on HOSE will be traded at around 5 per cent instead of 3, and shares on HASTC at 7 instead of 4.

The change has been viewed as a bold and potentially reckless step by securities regulators. However, the regulators have based the change on the increasing stability of local and overseas economies and greater enthusiasm from investors in securities trading. —

A brief history of trading band adjustments

The trading band for both the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC) will be widened once again today.

The State Securities Commission’s Thursday decision sets HOSE’s new trading band at 5 per cent and HASTC’s at 7.

The trading band represents the amount that listed shares can rise or fall within a single trading day.

The expansion is the ninth trading band adjustment since the stock market began sessions in 2000. Since, then band adjustments have served as a barometer for market conditions within the country.

July 28, 2000: The first time the trading band was altered, the State Securities Commission tightened it from the planned 5 per cent to 2 per cent. The new band applied in the very first trading session of the stock market.

The VN-Index started at 100 points, and after a year with an adjusted 2 per cent band, it rose to 571 points.

June 13, 2001: The commission decided to widen the band from 2 to 7 per cent, plus or minus. The stock market saw rapid growth during 6 consecutive sessions. Subsequently, the VN-Index dropped to a record low of 203 points on October 12, 2001.

October 15, 2001: As a result of broad panic on the stock market, the trading band was changed a third time. Securities regulators decided to make a dramatic move by tightening control over shares, narrowing the band to 2 per cent, plus or minus, from the previous 7 per cent.

The commission also decided to reduce the tranche of shares from 100 to 10 and to increase the trading session number to six days a week, instead of three.

As a result, the VN-Index advanced consistently for 19 sessions, but then began dropping back.

August 1, 2002: The trading band was loosened from 2 to 3 per cent and the VN-Index still declined.

December 23, 2002: The commission resumed a 5 per cent trading band to encourage more exchanges. The stock market experienced strong growth during the 2005-2007 period.

March 27, 2008: Impacted by the fluctuation of both local and global economies, the nation’s stock market began to suffer. Investors began selling shares en masse, incurring huge losses. Securities regulators once again intervened in the market by reducing the band to 1 per cent from 5 per cent on HOSE, and 2 per cent from 10 per cent on HASTC.

As a result, the VN-Index rose for several sessions. The action prevented share dumping, but liquidity was lost.

April 7, 2008: Due to lack of market liquidity, an imbalance arose between share supply and demand, so the commission cautiously loosened the band by one percentage point for both bourses.

The VN-Index continued its up-trend and then went into a consistent falling pattern, though liquidity improved somewhat.

June 16, 2008: The band was loosened by one percentage point yet again, as Government efforts toward stabilising the economy began showing the first signs of success.

Accordingly, shares listed on HOSE were traded at around 3 per cent of a single day’s preference price, plus or minus. On HASTC, shares fluctuated within 4 per cent.

The VN-Index fell in 3 consecutive sessions to its lowest level yet, 368 points, on June 20. After that it rebounded and continued gradual gains, with the occasional downturn as investors unloaded shares to turn a profit.

August 18, 2008: Shares listed on HOSE will be traded at around 5 per cent instead of 3, and shares on HASTC at 7 instead of 4.

The change has been viewed as a bold and potentially reckless step by securities regulators. However, the regulators have based the change on the increasing stability of local and overseas economies and greater enthusiasm from investors in securities trading. —

Share prices rise with loose trading band

HA NOI — Share prices soared yesterday as the daily trading band was loosened for the domestic stock market.

Yesterday, shares listed on the HCM City Stock Exchange were traded within the band limit of 5 per cent instead of three, and shares on the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre at seven instead of four. The State Securities Commission (SSC) officially announced the trading band expansion last Thursday in a move to improve market liquidity.

Inflation ratios, foreign direct investment and improved interest rates all helped facilitate the decision, the SSC said.

The VN-Index closed—far exceeding the psychologically important mark of 500 points—at 508.05, after jumping 19.11 points, or 3.91 per cent.

The southern market saw 143 winners, the majority of which hit the ceiling, and 11 losers.

The trading volume nearly doubled last Friday’s figure at 18.8 million shares and fund certificates, with a total turnover of more than VND786 billion (US$47.63 million).

Phu My Fertilisers (DPM) was the most active yesterday with orders for nearly 2.4 million shares, followed by Hoa Phat Group (HPG) with 1.27 million shares. Sacombank (STB) was also in demand, with purchases exceeding sales by 1.9 million shares.

Foreign investors were net buyers, taking 4.18 million shares and selling 2.18 million units. Net purchase value reached VND137 billion ($8.3 million).

At the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre, the HASTC-Index climbed 6.28 points, or 4.14 per cent, to end at 157.93. Trading volume tripled Friday’s figure at 10 million shares, with total revenues of VND385.37 billion ($23.25 million).

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) led the northern market in terms of trading volume with 1.43 million share traded, followed by Petroleum Technical Service Corp (PVS) and PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI), with around 800,000 million units each.

“Authorities have seen improvements in the macro-level environment as well as in the stock market, so they made the decision,” deputy director of Thang Long Securities Do Hiep Hoa said, adding that it was reasonable to make such a decision now, when investors were excited.

Ha Noi Securities said that a bigger trading band and lower petrol prices had a positive effect on the stock market and “could absolutely last throughout this week.”

The Viet Nam International Securities’ Analysis Department said that with an expanded trading band, investors would soon reach expected profits, so they would soon cash in on their profits. Therefore the market may see downward adjustments in the final days of the week.

Hoang Chung, an investor with An Binh Securities, said he might temporarily withdraw from the market, waiting for August’s consumer price index (CPI) to be announced.

“A bigger trading band helps the market increase rapidly, but can also cause prompt declines,” Chung said, adding that he was not sure about the economy.

“The economy has seen some improvement, but hasn’t been as good as it was some years ago,” director of SSC’s Market Development Department Nguyen Son told reporters late last week. “There are still some potential problems.”

Son cited that petrol prices were still at [a high of] VND18,000 a litre despite having been slashed by VND1,000, and the prime interest rate remained at 14 per cent. “Those are factors that hurt enterprises.”

He said that the trading band would be adjusted flexibly in accordance with market developments.

“Since inflation has been curbed and world oil and gold prices have fallen significantly, investors can believe in the good prospects of the economy in the final months of the year,” Mirae Asset Securities’ Analysis Department said.

“However, lending rates hovering around 20 per cent per year are a big hindrance to the market,” it said.

EuroCapital Securities, in a recent market review, forecast that the market would warm up in the third quarter of the year, expecting the VN-Index to move by around 500-550 points and the HASTC-Index around 150 points. —

Declining petrol prices, loose trading band prop up VN-Index

Investors at ABBank Securities have expected the loosening of the trading band would improve market liquidity. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOi — There was good news yesterday as the VN-Index strengthened, closing the last trading session at 476.5 with an increase of 12.49 points.

The increase of the VN-Index was attributed to the decline of domestic petrol prices and the loosening of the trading band at both HCM City and Ha Noi bourses.

Of the 160 listed shares, the southern bourse saw 155 gainers, 4 losers and 1 remained unchanged with 19.18 million shares changing hands worth US$710 billion. Of them, 154 stocks hit the ceiling and three – VKP, KMR and CNT – dropped to the floor.

The strong increase in prices included Hau Giang Pharmaceuticals (DHG), up VND4,000 to stand at VND144,000 per share with over 96,000 share changing hands.

DPM of Phu My Fertiliser was the most active share with 1.64 million changing hands, followed by STB of Sacombank with 1.25 million shares and HPG of Hoa Phat with 1.1 million shares.

The Ministry of Finance announced yesterday morning a slash in the retail price of petrol. The most popular 92-octane petrol grade now retails at VND18,000 per litre, down 5.3 per cent from VND19,000 but still represents a rise of nearly 40 per cent since the end of 2007.

The 95-octane grade is now at VND18,300 per litre, down 4 per cent from VND19,300, while diesel is left unchanged at VND15,950 per litre.

Next Monday the trading band of both the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC) will be lifted to 5 and 7 per cents respectively. The current trading band is 3 per cent in HOSE and 5 per cent in HASTC.

Hoang Xuan Quyen, analyst director of Tan Viet Securities said the loosening of the trading band would surely improve liquidity of the market. He said the development of Thursday’s trading session partly reflected the excitement of investors on the backs of decreasing petrol prices and the loosening of the trading band.

Ha Anh, an investor with HabuBank Securities, said the stock market needed more time to bounce back, adding that the loosening of the trading band was too soon and may hinder the VN-Index.

Anh noted that previous adjustments of the trading band fluctuating between 1 and 2 per cent at both bourses helped the VN-Index climb for eight consecutive sessions. The VN-index being adjusted to 3 per cent plunged the index. Anh was afraid of facing such as a risk to be occurred after loosening trading band this time.

At the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre, the HASTC-Index increased 3.93 points, or 2.76 per cent to end at 146.57 points. There were 139 gainers, four losers, two remained unchanged and one was inactive. A volume of 9 million shares were traded with a total capital of VND263.9 billion. —