Vietnamese corporate leaders deploy millions of US dollars to buy stocks as market plunges

Vietnam’s stock market tumbled sharply as escalating geopolitical tensions triggered heavy selling, prompting several business leaders and their associates to register large stock purchases worth trillions of dong ($1 trillion = over $38 million).

VN-Index, which tracks the performance of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), dropped 6.51% on Monday, marking the sharpest drop in one year. Many stocks hit their floor prices and broke previous lows, leaving investors increasingly anxious.

Amid the steep decline, a number of executives of listed companies and their related parties registered to spend tens or even hundreds of billions of dong (VND100 billion = $3.8 million) to buy shares, boosting their ownerships and signaling confidence in their businesses.

According to disclosures of insider transactions on the Vietnamese bourses, the wave of stock purchases by corporate leaders and related parties has spread across several sectors, including steel, real estate and agriculture.

Relatives of executives step in

Hoa Phat Group on Monday announced a share purchase plan by a person related to an internal shareholder. Tran Vu Minh, the son of chairman Tran Dinh Long, registered to buy 50 million shares of HPG between March 12 and April 10.

Before the transaction, Minh held 176.39 million HPG shares, equivalent to about 2.3% of the company’s charter capital. If the deal is completed, his holdings would increase to 226.39 million shares, representing roughly 2.95%.

At the close on Monday, HPG shares hit the floor price of VND25,350 ($0.97) per share. At that level, the planned purchase would be worth more than VND1.25 trillion ($47.63 million).

At Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB), which trades under ticker MBB, Le Thi Hong Phan, the wife of CEO Pham Nhu Anh, registered to buy 2 million shares for investment purposes. The transaction is scheduled to take place between March 10 and April 8 via order matching.

If successful, Phan’s holdings would rise from nearly 2.2 million shares to about 4.2 million shares, increasing her ownership ratio from 0.027% to 0.052%. The purchase is estimated to cost around VND49.7 billion ($1.89 milion).

Executives buying their own company shares

Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HoSE: HAG), recently registered to buy 5 million HAG shares through exchange matching orders until April 7.

If completed, Duc would raise his holdings to about 309.9 million shares, equivalent to 24.45% of the company. HAG shares closed at VND14,500 ($0.55 million) on Monday, meaning the chairman would spend roughly VND72.5 billion ($2.76 million) on the purchase.

Another business leader willing to spend billions of dong (VND1 billion = $38,100) to buy company shares is Duong Thi Thai – the authorized information disclosure officer and head of governance at Vietnam Pharmaceutical Materials Joint Stock Company (HNX: DVM).

Thai has registered to buy 9.5 million shares for personal purposes. The transaction is expected to take place from March 11 to March 31.

Previously, between February 25 and March 4, Thai bought 2 million DVM shares, increasing her ownership stake from 0% to approximately 4.25% of the company's charter capital. If the new purchase is completed, her ownership stake in the company will reach 24.44%.

With the share price at VND6,300 ($0.24) at the close of trading on Monday, Thai would have to spend approximately VND60 billion ($2.29 million) to complete the purchase of additional DVM shares.

Similarly, Nguyen Quang Trung, CEO of SMC Trading Investment JSC (HoSE: SMC), registered to buy 5.9 million SMC shares between March 11 and April 8.

If successful, he would hold about 8.01% of the company’s charter capital. Based on the current price of VND10,500 ($0.4) per share, the purchase would cost nearly VND62 billion ($2.36 million).

Signal to the market

According to market experts, announcements of share purchases by company executives often help stocks recover in the short term, as investors interpret them as a sign that management remains confident about the company’s prospects.

For companies where executives already hold significant stakes, buying additional shares also demonstrates alignment of interests between management and shareholders.

Such moves are often seen as efforts to strengthen investor confidence, especially during periods when share prices fall sharply due to external shocks.