Vinamilk drives market higher
Vinamilk drives market higher
Shares rebounded yesterday after Vinamilk, Viet Nam's biggest stock by market value, surged amid investor expectation that the Government will soon issue details about its divestment of State capital from this company.
On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN-Index advanced 0.8 per cent to close at 615.2 points after edging down 0.2 per cent on Wednesday.
In the smaller market in Ha Noi, the HNX-Index inched up 0.2 per cent higher to end the session at 81.9 points. The Index decreased 0.2 per cent in the previous session.
Vinamilk surged 4.1 per cent yesterday to finish at VND128,000 (US$5.71) a share, remaining the biggest stock by market capitalization in Viet Nam, valued at VND153.7 trillion ($6.9 billion).
The share price has climbed almost 25.5 per cent since October 14 on news that the Government directed the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to sell its 45.1 per cent stake in Vinamilk "in a suitable time".
The dairy company has also proposed that the Government should soon announce the divestment road map as well as criteria to pick investors. It has also suggested allowing full foreign ownership to support the development of the Vietnamese dairy brand overseas.
Early this week, local media reported Singapore's food and beverage Fraser & Neave Limited (F&N) has proposed to buy SCIC's 45.1 per cent stakes in Vinamilk in a deal worth $4 billion, but the Singaporean company denied this information.
The dairy firm topped the list of 50 most valuable brands on the Vietnamese stock market, which was released by UK-based Brand Finance at mid-October. The company is worth more than $1.1 billion in value.
Vinamilk reported a net profit of over VND2.1 trillion ($94 million) in the third quarter, up 55 per cent year-on-year. Ending September, it earned almost VND5.9 trillion ($263.4 million) in net profit, up over 35 per cent year-on-year.
In a report in September, Saigon Securities Inc forecast Vinamilk's earnings would rise 24 per cent in 2015 but after the higher-than-expected earnings result in nine months, the securities company said this week it could raise its forecast for the company by year-end.
Apart from Vinamilk, insurance companies saw big gains yesterday. Bao Minh Insurance Corp surged by the daily limit of 7 per cent while Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) increased 3.2 per cent. Other insurers also rose between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
The overall market condition was positive with 33.3 per cent of 680 trading stocks advanced while 25 per cent declined.
Liquidity decreased with 139.2 million shares worth over VND2.2 trillion ($98.2 million) being traded in the two markets, down 20.2 per cent in volume and 34 per cent in value from Wednesday's figures.
