Listed enterprises need to improve their shareholder
relations if they want to boost investor confidence and see their
shares perform better on the stock market.


Shareholder relations encompass all sorts of public
information, from financial reports, to prospectuses to annual reports,
all of which provide shareholders with essential information for
judging the soundness of their investments.


In Vietnam, however, shareholder relations remain in
their infancy, with view publicly traded companies even maintaining
websites to keep shareholders informed about business activity and
performance. Not even quarterly financial statements, which the law
requires these companies to repair, are posted on line by many
companies.


Hoang Trung Nghia, an investor in Hanoi, said, "I have
attended some stockholder meetings and realised that very few
enterprises prepare detailed reports on their businesses for
stockholders."


Nghia affirmed he has rarely located information on the websites of enterprises in which he is a shareholder.


The few listed companies that have web pages for
investor relations are rarely updated, another display of seeming
disregard for investors.


Hoa Binh Securities broker Nguyen Thanh Cong said
that, in other stock markets worldwide, listed companies paid a great
deal of attention to information for shareholders because it helped
prove the effectiveness of enterprises in using investor capital.


"Domestic firms don't seem to realise how important
investor relations are. Their information for stockholders is weak,"
Cong said.


Stock market traders now seem to depend on several
information research services and consulting and analysis departments
of securities firms. Disturbingly, many investors still overly rely on
market rumours and word-of-mouth before deciding whether to invest in a
particular share.


Bao Viet Securities deputy director Ngo Phuong Chi
said that consulting services of securities firms tended to target
their information to institutional investors, not intending it to be
relied upon en masse by individual investors.


"This causes herd mentality among local traders," Cong said.


A few enterprises, like Refrigeration, Engineering and
Electrical Corporation (REE), have begun holding conferences for
stockholders to update them on business activities.


Sacombank also maintains an updated website full of the latest news on its business.


"These are an initial effort by listed companies to
promote "the relationship between enterprises and their shareholders,"
Cong said.


"The domestic exchange is still young and volatile, so
these efforts are necessary to direct investors to the right
investments."


He called on all listed firms to improve their
shareholder relations, hiring professional consultants if needed to
help them compile and publish the information.