On the second day of listing on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), Vincom Retail, under the ticker VRE, broke records in terms of transaction value and volume of shares bought in a single day.

Besides, it is the first shopping centre enterprise to be listed on the Vietnamese stock exchange, and with the market capitalisation of $3.4 billion, it ranks as one of the enterprises with the largest market capitalisation on the stock exchange. Notably, according to newswire *****, on November 7, a series of foreign investors spent VND16 trillion ($702.8 million) acquiring 415 million shares in Vincom Retail at the share price of VND40,600 ($1.78).
The total stake sold made up 22 per cent of VRE’s offered volume.
These foreign investors are Avanda Investment Management Pte., Dragon Capital, Genesis Investment Management LLP, GIC Pte., HSBC Asset Management, Karst Peak, RWC Asset Advisors, Templeton Investments, and TT International.
The sold shares will be transferred on November 9, and the investors will be able to continue trading with their stakes from November 10.
Explaining VRE’s appeal, Pham Nguyen Anh Thu, Vingroup’s investment director, said that VRE managed to lure in numerous investors, especially foreign investors, due to the firm’s potential in the real estate and retail sectors.
Besides, shopping demand has been increasing thanks the steady increase of the Vietnamese population in general and the middle class in particular, which is believed to be growing the fastest in Southeast Asia. Market research firm Nielsen has estimated that the number of middle class Vietnamese will reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.
Furthermore, Vincom Retail plans to rapidly expand its business network.
Along with the buy order from foreign investors, existing foreign shareholders completed their partial divestment in Vincom Retail. Notably, according to newswire FinanceAsia, after the second transaction session, Warburg Pincus and Credit Suisse decreased their holding to 4.9 and 1.6 per cent from 15.17 and 5.06 per cent, respectively.
On November 6, Vincom Retail, a subsidiary of Vingroup Corporation, launched the sale of 1.9 billion shares listed on the HoSE.