Foreign investors offload record-high numbers of Vietnamese stocks in May

Foreign investors net sold VND15,606.6 billion ($613.8 million) worth of Vietnamese stocks on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) in May, the highest value since the launch of the bourse in 2000.

This was the fourth consecutive net-selling month on the bourse by overseas players, far above a net sales value of VND6 trillion ($236 million) in April, exchange data showed.

Last month, the most heavily net-unloaded stock was VHM of Vinhomes, the largest residential housing developer in the country, to the tune VND4,774 billion ($187.8 million). Foreigners have been net-selling this ticker for the past seven months.

The next most net-sold stocks during the month were CTG of VietinBank with VND1,709 billion ($67.2 million), VPB of VPBank with VND809 billion, VRE of Vincom Retail with VND736 billion, HDB of HDBank with VND723 billion, VND of VNDirect Securities with VND673 billion, VCB of Vietcombank with VND629 billion, VNM of Vinamilk with VN628 billion, and HPG of Hoa Phat with VND579 billion.

On the other side, MWG of Mobile World was the most favored stock by foreign investors in May, with a net buying value of VND1,551 billion ($61 million). Foreigners owned 48.7% of the firm’s shares as of May 31.

MWG shares rose 15.8% during May to end the month at VND63,600 apiece and surpassed the one-year peak at VND57,500.

The other most sought after were DBC of Dabaco with VND672 billion, HVN of Vietnam Airlines with VND483 billion, NLG of Nam Long Group with VND328 billion, NVL of Nova Land with VND243 billion, and PVT of PV Trans with 151 billion.

Between January and May, foreign investors net sold VND35,479 billion ($1.4 billion) worth of shares on the HoSE.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, foreign investors net bought VND286 billion worth of shares. They net bought IDC of Ideco (VND313.2 billion), MBS of MB Securities (VND151.2 billion), and GKM of GKM Holdings (VN48.9 billion). Meanwhile, they net sold VND68 billion worth of Baoviet Securities, VND36.6 billion of CEO Group, and VND31.5 billion of Petrovietnam Technical Services.

On the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), they net sold VND3,693 billion ($145.25 million), focusing on MSR of Masan High-Tech Materials (VND1,626 billion), ABB of ABBank (VND882.8 billion), and VEA of Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery (VND751.6 billion).

Analysts attributed the strong net sales of foreign players to the devaluation of the Vietnamese dong, geopolitical tensions, and the delay in operating the new KRX trading platform.

Despite strong foreign selling force, the benchmark VN-Index of the HoSE increased 4.36% last month.