Shares of VPS Securities, Vietnam‘s largest brokerage by market share, fell in their trading debut on Tuesday as the broader market extended last week’s declines.
The shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange were down 13.67% at 51,800 dong ($1.97) at 0248 GMT, well below the offering price of 60,000 dong. That gave the company a market value of around 76.7 trillion dong ($2.91 billion).
Last week, its competitor VPBank Securities, a brokerage unit of Vietnam Prosperity VPB.HM, also fell in its debut due to a weak market.
Vietnam‘s IPO market has recently gained momentum, supported by a stock rally, regulatory reforms, increased credit activity and the country’s upgrade to emerging market status by index provider FTSE Russell, in spite of persistent net selling by foreign investors.
Despite the market downturn, analysts remain optimistic about upcoming listing plans.
“IPO is a long-term strategy while it is just a short-term market correction. The current situation may not have any impact on upcoming IPO plans,” said Hoang Huy, equity strategist at Maybank Vietnam.
The benchmark Vietnam index has lost 2.66% this month, weighed down by weak investor sentiment, tight liquidity, and political uncertainty ahead of an upcoming party congress, according to analysts.
After gaining 30% earlier this year, the strongest performance among Southeast Asian markets, the index fell over 5% last week and stayed flat on Tuesday morning, LSEG data showed.
($1 = 26,331.0000 dong)
Reuters
