According to data from the Vietnam Securities Depository Center (VSD), the number of domestic investor accounts surged by over 330,000 in August 2024, a slight increase from the previous month and the highest in over two years since the May-June 2022 period. The growth in accounts mainly came from individuals, while organizations only added 131 accounts.
Cumulatively, the number of domestic securities accounts has increased by more than 1.4 million so far this year. As of the end of August, individual investors held a total of over 8.6 million accounts, equivalent to about 8.6% of the population. This figure brings Vietnam’s securities market closer to its target of reaching 9 million accounts by 2025 and 11 million by 2030.
While the number of securities accounts continues to rise, investor sentiment remains cautious due to global uncertainties. Trading on the market remains subdued, with August liquidity down 30% from the March-April period, despite the VN-Index being in the same point range. According to SGI Capital, Vietnam’s stock market has never experienced a sustained upward trend amid a sharp decline in liquidity.
Indeed, the market is showing signs of fatigue after a strong recovery in August. The VN-Index ended August with a 2.6% gain, climbing above 1,280 points, but quickly reversed course at the beginning of September. Domestic capital has been the main driver but is not abundant. On a positive note, foreign investors have eased their net selling.
After a period of massive selling in May and June, the value of net selling by foreign investors on HoSE has decreased significantly recently but has not shown signs of reversing. Cumulatively, from the beginning of the year to now, foreign investors have net sold a total of nearly VND 66,000 billion (USD 2.6 billion) on HoSE, a record high in the over 24 years of operation.
Despite consistent net selling, the number of foreign investor accounts in Vietnam continues to increase month over month. Specifically, the number of foreign accounts rose by 255 in August, higher than the 217 accounts added in the previous month. Individuals accounted for an increase of 262 accounts, while organizations unexpectedly decreased by 7 accounts. The total number of foreign investor accounts currently stands at 47,004.
