Hanoi (VNA) - Only three share auctions have beenorganised in the Vietnamese stock market so far this year, the lowest numbersince 2007, according to recent statistics from the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh StockExchanges (HNX and HoSE).

The auctions had a total value of 2.7 trillion VND (111 millionUSD).

The HoSE recorded a single successful auction, with Petrolimexdivesting 120 million shares (equivalent to a 40% stake) in PGBank (PGB)with a value of 2.56 trillion VND. On the HNX, there were two successfulauctions involving Tia Sang Battery (TSB), selling 3.44 million shares, andEVNNPC auctioning 2.34 million shares. The total value of share auctionson the Hanoi bourse reached nearly 164 billion VND.

The decline in share auction activities can be attributed to various factors,including the challenging macroeconomic conditions in 2023. The VN-Index hasstruggled to surpass the 1,100-point threshold for several months, reflectingthe difficult situation in the stock market.

Experts point out that the lack of notable new companies entering the market isone of the reasons for the decline in share auctions. This has led to acontinuous decrease in auction values over the years, from a peak of 130trillion VND in 2017 to only 2.7 trillion VND last year.

The number of newly listed shares in 2023 remains modest. Both exchanges havelisted only nine new stock codes and one fund certificate, with many of thembeing transferred from UPCoM and not considered entirely new listings.

Companies like Nova Consumer (NCG), Ton Dong A (GDA), and VNG (VNZ) havedecided not to list and are only traded on UPCoM. Moreover, several stocks havebeen delisted from the HoSE and the HNX due to violations of informationdisclosure regulations and financial losses.

Dinh The Hien, an economic expert, said that the lack of new listings isprimarily due to businesses not perceiving the favourable timing for goingpublic. After a challenging year, the stock market has only experienced aslight recovery, making it unfavourable for businesses to raise capital atreasonable costs through IPOs.

"State-owned enterprises face additional challenges in the equitisationprocess as they require strategic partners to participate. However, the globaleconomic difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a narrowingof operations for many manufacturing corporations and financial investors, makingit more challenging for state-owned companies to find strategicinvestors."

Hien emphasised the importance of a vibrant market with new productsand listings. The presence of more listed businesses and quality stocksattracts investors and contributes to the development of the capital market./.