The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange saw further selloffs
Monday as investors continued to remain spooked by the market’s recent
slumps.


The VN-Index fell for the seventh straight day, losing
7.39 points, or 1.95 percent, to close at 371.67. The country’s main
index is just 5.65 points higher than this year’s lowest of 366 reached
in June.


A broker in HCMC, who wanted to be unnamed, told Thanh
Nien Daily that investors reacted nervously to recent falls though
several listed firms announced good results for the first three
quarters.


“Sentiment is pretty low despite positive signs from
the economy – including slowing inflation this month and a fall in fuel
prices,” he said.


“Listed firms, like battery maker Pinaco, Saigon
Garment Joint Stock Co., rubber producer Tay Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City
Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Co., also announced healthy
earnings in the first nine months of the year.”


A pullout by many big speculators willing to dump
shares when the market turns bearish is also a main cause of recent
falls, he added.


“Vietnam's growth may slow this year as a result of
the global collapse,” Nguyen Xuan Minh, chief executive of HCMC-based
Vietnam Asset Management Ltd, said.


“Based on fundamentals rather than sentiment, Vietnam still looks attractive.


“The domestic economy is stabilizing based on the
trade deficit and inflation. The country as a whole has minimal
exposure to the western world's credit crisis. Vietnam's exports are
more basic and thus less cyclical in nature, and the long-term
investment commitment to Vietnam is unchanged.”


“However, the ongoing financial crisis in the US and
other developed markets is certainly affecting investors' sentiment in
Vietnam. The panic will likely continue but it will not last for too
long. It won't take investors long to realize that Vietnamese companies
have little direct relationship with what's happening overseas.''


Minh also said he does not think the State Securities Commission should intervene during this decline.


“Market liquidity has been relatively high, hence very
healthy for a frontier market like Vietnam,” he added. “Narrowing the
trading band again or a temporary trading suspension, if implemented,
will be a disaster that could affect investors' confidence in the
medium- and long- term. We have witnessed counter-effects of government
intervention.


“A better scenario for the government to improve
sentiment will be to offer attractively valued privatizations of
state-owned enterprises.''


Minh also said it is difficult to make any short-term calls.


“We take a long-term view and see tremendous buying
opportunities to accumulate good stocks, particularly those with solid
management, strong balance sheets, healthy cash flows, low capital
investment, especially those in the consumer sector,” he said. “It is
certainly a good time to invest when valuations are very cheap.”


Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the
exchange’s only listed lender, remained the most active stock by
volume, with more than 1.6 million shares changing hands.


The HCMC-based bank regained VND300, or 1.49 percent, to close at VND20,500.


Saigon Fuel Co. was the best mover, rising by VND1,800, or the daily maximum limit of 5 percent, to close at VND37,800.


DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Co. became the biggest loser by losing VND6,000, or 5 percent, to close at VND114,000.


Foreigners continued to bail out by selling shares
heavily. They notched up a net negative figure of VND66.5 billion (US$4
million).