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Traders wary of longer hours
The possibility that trading hours on the nation's stock exchanges would be extended to the afternoon in near future is concerning investors, many of whom think that the market is struggling to reach higher trading levels even with trading limited to half-a-day.
Earlier this month, the State Securities Commission released several measures to promote the market and make it more consistent with practices on global markets, including the extension of trading hours to a full day.
Dao Van Khanh, an analyst with a Ha Noi-based securities company, said it was too early to extend trading hours.
"In general, the extension will help our market draw more capital from professional investors," Khanh said. "But our market is currently ruled by small individual investors who won't benefit from the extension."
Investor Dang Hoang An doubted daily trading volumes would improve particularly, figuring the same amount of money would be invested but spread out over longer trading sessions.
Besides, An said, "We tend to make the best decisions in the morning."
"Mornings are already enough to make us - individual traders, that is - dizzy," said veteran investor Le Trong Nghia.
"We need time to deal with the matters relating to investment, such as loans and savings and to review updated information from global markets.
The extended hours could therefore impact the quality of investment decisions in the next session".
Nghia also noted that local trading was already hampered by settlement methods that require investors to wait four days to receive payments.
"We can't buy or sell further until the settlements reach our accounts," said Nghia, who believed that longer trading hours were likely to clog up the works further.
However, the Viet Nam Securities Depository Centre recently introduced a new technical system which would help the centre co-ordinate and manage data and information related to securities trading, said Centre Deputy Director Duong Ngoc Tuan.
The system would be a basis for helping reduce settlement times, Tuan said.
Meanwhile, the State Securities Commission was acknowledging that time was needed to synchonise payment and trading systems among the two stock exchanges and the depository centre before afternoon trading could be instituted.
VietNamNet, VietNamNews
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