The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on Wednesday moved up for the third day in a row, as the demand for shares remained high, but many shareholders were unwilling to sell.


The VN-Index added 4.23 points, one percent, to close at 444.79, its highest level since October 3. Among the index members, 97 rose and 58 fell.


Royal International Joint-Stock Co. (RIC) rose 4.9 percent to VND45,300. The company plans to issue more than five million bonus shares to stakeholders, according to a statement filed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange’s website yesterday.


Shareholders will get ten new shares at no extra cost for every 100 they hold, the company said in the statement. The new shares will start trading on the exchange on August 17.


Ho Chi Minh Infrastructure Investment Co. (CII) rallied for a fourth day, climbing 4.9 percent to VND43,000, the highest since March 14, 2008.


The HCMC-based construction and property company raised its net profit forecast to more than VND110.6 billion (US$6.2 million), compared with VND57.5 billion in the first half last year, according to a posting on its website yesterday.


Last month, it forecast profits would rise 51 percent to VND87 billion.


Costs may fall to VND55.6 billion, from VND116 billion in the same period last year, it said in the statement. It did not give any reason for the expected drop.


[url="http://www.vietstock.com.vn/vstfinance/StockDetail.aspx?scode=SMC&q=SMC" target=_blank>SMC Trading Investment Joint-Stock Co. (