Vietnam's stock market is reported to have paid the dearest cost in 2008 with the official benchmark losing 66 per cent and market capitalization evaporated 53 per cent to VND170.732 trillion (US$10.102 billion), traders said.
"Let's take a look back at the market last year, a stormy year, no one expected the market had made worst slump and what the market gained in 2007 was rub off in 2008," Huy Nam, an independent stock analyst said.
A preliminary statistics showed that up to 80 per cent of local stock brokerages had losses last year.
"Last year was the most terrible for stock brokers and this is the first time they had struggled for survivals with trading shrinking by two thirds, they are on brink of bankruptcy and up to 30 per cent will be merged in coming months," Nguyen Thanh Ky, general secretary of the Vietnam Stock Players' Association said.
Except for Saigon Securities Inc, Vietnam's leading stock brokerages, which reported net profit of VND300 billion by 2008-end, fulfilling only 60 per cent of the year's set target but SSI's profit figure was remarkable thanks to bonds transactions, Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman of SSI told mass media, many others had net losses.
Kim Long Securities expected net loss of VND300 billion.
"2008 is a difficult year for the entire economy, harder for stock brokerages," Pham Vinh Thanh, vice CEO of Kim Long Securities said.
Tong Minh Tuan, vice chief analyst of Bao Viet Securities forecast that Vietnam’s stock market will face the worst-ever slump and trade with a range of 300-400 points from February to April, bounce back to 400-500 in Q3 and Q4 and regain growth with benchmark of 500-600 points after macroeconomic conditions of Vietnam’s economy strengthen.
Currently, Vietnam has more than 90 stock brokerages and 20 investment management funds. (cafef.channelvn.net, HOSE)
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