Many Vietnamese stocks are trading at deeply discounted valuations: brokerage exec

Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman of Vietnam’s leading brokerage SSI Securities, said many stocks on the local market are "trading at very low valuations", as recent gains in the benchmark index have been driven by only a handful of large-cap names.

Vietnam’s stock market has been broadly weaker over the past week, with the VN-Index, which represents the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), losing more than 108 points in six sessions. On Tuesday, the index fell as much as 17 points to 1,629.37 before trimming losses to end the morning session down 7.9 points.

“When gains are concentrated in just a few large stocks, many others are trading at very low valuations,” Hung wrote on his verified Facebook page, a comment that was widely shared among investor groups.

Since mid-August, only a small number of heavyweight stocks have lifted the VN-Index, including VIC, VJC and GEE.

Data show that VIC alone contributed about 150 points to the index over the period, while VJC added 7.6 points and GEE five points, even as the VN-Index rose by just 45 points overall, implying sharp declines across many other stocks.

In the securities sector, several leading stocks have fallen steeply, with SSI dropping from VND38,600 per share to VND28,200 ($1.07), VCI from VND48,700 to VND33,000, VND from VND26,700 to VND17,750, and HCMC from VND29,700 to VND22,500.

Banking stocks have also retreated after peaking in late August, with VPB sliding from around VND38,000 to VND27,100, TCB from VND41,000 to VND31,500, and STB from VND60,000 to VND46,600.

Property stocks have also come under heavy pressure, excluding the Vingroup group, with major names such as NLG, KDH, DXG, PDR, DIG and NVL seeing sharp declines in recent sessions.

Vietnam’s market experienced a similar sell-off in April after the United States announced reciprocal tariff measures, when the VN-Index lost more than 185 points in three sessions.

At that time, Hung urged investors to buy the dip, saying tariff impacts were negative but did not justify a “doomsday” market reaction.

The index later recovered over the following four months, supported by positive developments in trade talks and expectations of a market status upgrade.

This time, analysts said the market is reacting mainly to tighter system liquidity and rising deposit and lending rates, driven by strong year-end demand for capital. They expect liquidity conditions to ease in early 2026.

Vietnam is scheduled for another market review in March, ahead of its expected upgrade from frontier to secondary emerging market status, which is set to take effect in September 2026.

FTSE Russell officials said earlier this month that the country has met all nine upgrade criteria, with the period until September 2026 serving as a global-standard transition phase.

Foreign investors have been heavy net sellers in recent months, but analysts expect Vietnam to attract billions of dollars in inflows once the upgrade is implemented. The government’s target of double-digit economic growth through 2030 is also seen as a key driver of corporate earnings, making Vietnamese equities more attractive on valuation grounds, analysts said.