Vietnam stock market booming
Vietnam’s benchmark VnIndex closed just below the old all-time high of 571.04 point set five years ago after a day of strong gains Tuesday.
It rose by 9.85 points to close at 570.94 and experts predict it will breach the 600 level soon.
The turnover was VND146 billion (US$9.17 million), a normal occurrence now compared to just tens of millions dongs daily a few years ago.
From a level of $144 million two years ago, Vietnam’s market capitalization has increased to $1.5 billion.
The VnIndex, a capitalization-weighted index of all 36 companies listed on the exchange, has risen more than 60% since December 31.
Factors fueling the stock boom include a rapidly-growing economy (8.4% last year); reforms allowing foreigners to hold 49% of listed companies; and a push to encourage state-owned companies to go public.
Reported by Hoang Ly – Translated by Thanh Tuan
