Ho Chi Minh City stocks extended their losses
Wednesday as investors, whose sentiments have plummeted due to the
continuing international slump and imposition of capital gains tax,
continued to sell out.


The VN-Index of 165 companies and four closed-end funds lost 9.38 points, or 2.67 percent, to close at 342.33 points.


Nguyen Hai Son, a broker at FPT Securities Co. in
HCMC, said apart from the bad news about global stock markets which
undermined investor confidence, the capital gains tax clause that takes
effect in January next year has also scared away investors.


The new Personal Income Tax Law seeks to slap a tax of
either 0.1 percent on every sale of securities or 20 percent on the
whole year’s net profit.


Son added that some investors sold blue chips to book profit, sending them tumbling along with the index.


PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Joint Stock Co.,
PetroVietnam Finance Co., Pha Lai Thermal Power, PV Drilling, and
Saigon Securities Inc. all declined by almost the daily allowed limit
of 5 percent.


Trading volume was 14.9 million as 41 shares advanced, 102 declined and 26 remained unchanged.


But Son predicted the stock market to gain slightly in
the next two days. Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the
exchange’s only listed lender, was the most active stock, with more
than 2.5 million shares changing hands.


Foreign investors were net sellers, notching up a net value of more than VND115 billion (US$6.8 million).


World markets hit by company woes Asian and European
stock markets were rattled Wednesday by investor fears that the ongoing
financial crisis will wreak havoc at the world's biggest companies,
analysts said.


Worries that US titan General Motors could go bust
have brought into sharp focus the impact of the global credit crunch on
corporate America.


In Asia on Wednesday, Tokyo finished down 1.29 percent
and Hong Kong dropped 0.7 percent as concerns about plunging corporate
profits and the weak global economy weighed on sentiment.


Europe's main markets gained ground, after sinking
into the red early on, with London up 1.19 percent and Paris adding
0.67 percent, while Frankfurt was down 0.17 percent.