5:02:14 PM | 8/10/2008
Vietnamese Premier Nguyen has just requested the Ministry of Finance and State Securities Commission to tighten control over foreign indirect cash flows pouring and withdrawing from the stock market, as part of measures to limit negative impacts from the U.S. crisis on Vietnam’s economy, state media said on October 6.
The PM also urged the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, the Finance Ministry to request local commercial banks and economic groups to double check their deposits and investments in foreign commercial banks and financial institutions.
The SSC Oct 2 told an economic forum that foreign investors directly pumped US$1 billion in the stock market between Jan and Mar, then withdrew US$810 million from April to June, and injected again US$160 million in Aug.
The total value of foreign investment portfolios reached US$7 billion by the end of Aug, down from US$8.4 billion due to drops in prices of local stocks.
In late Sept this year, LCF Rothschild Emerging Market Funds Research announced that the net asset value (NAV) of foreign investment funds in Vietnam had decreased by average 39.5 per cent since the start of this year.
Some funds that witnessed the sharp fall in NAV have been named, including Vietnam Lotus Fund with 48.2 per cent, Vietnam Growth Fund with 47.3 per cent, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Ltd 49.3 per cent, Vietnam Emerging Equity Fund 60.2 per cent, PXP Vietnam Fund 58.3 per cent, JF Vietnam Opportunities Fund 48.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, domestic funds had seen their NAV reducing 41.4 per cent on average, a little higher than that of foreign funds. NAV of three funds in Vietnam, including Manulife MAFPF1, VF1, and Prudential PRUBF1 fell 40 per cent, 46.4 per cent, and 37.8 per cent respectively.
By the end of September this year, 806 foreign institional investors and 11,294 foreign individual investors had taken part in Vietnam’s stock market.
Vietnam’s shares index has lost 56 per cent so far this year. (VNA, Securities Investment)
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