Vietnam shares gain after trading bands widened

Vietnam's stock market .VNI rose 1.7 percent in early trade on Monday after regulators doubled the intraday share trading band to 2 percent to increase liquidity.

The State Securities Commission, the market watchdog, said last week it would further widen the trading band should markets stabilise after almost halving in value in the first three months of the year.

"Vietnam cannot avoid taking such steps because of the poor knowledge of investors who put money into the market without being able to judge the real value of shares," a retail investor based in Hanoi said. "Without such orders the index could have fallen without stops."

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange was up 1.7 percent at 542.1 points. The band on the main exchange was reduced to 1 percent from 5 percent on March 27 to help halt a slump in share prices.

The Vietnam index is among the worst performing markets in the world, having lost around 40 percent of its value so far this year as liquidity dried up after the central bank tightened monetary supply in an effort to control inflation.

The stock index on the over-the-counter Hanoi Securities Trading Center .HASTCI gained 2.3 percent to 197.8 points as the trading band on the exchange was widened to 3 percent, from 2 percent previously.

Thanhnien

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