On November 12, answering inquiries at the ongoing National Assembly session, Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang said the consequences of fake news and false news are immeasurable, which can threaten socio-economic development and even national sovereignty and global security.

Some businesses have seen trillions of dong worth of capitalization disappear after a false rumour.

In mid-October, a document spread on social networks, allegedly sent by Eximbank’s supervisory board to agencies about the bank’s subprime loans, which ‘led to a risk of the banking system’s collapse’.

This immediately had an impact on investors’ psychology, especially groups of investors holding EIB shares. Closing the October 14 trading session, nearly 42.7 million EIB was transferred under the order-matching mode, worth VND780 billion, with foreign investors’ net sales reaching 5.3 million units, worth VND97 billion.

EIB also was the share with the strongest put-through transactions of the trading session, with value of VND1.05 trillion, accounting for 36 percent of total put-through transaction value at HOSE (HCM City Stock Exchange). Notably, this was EIB's highest liquidity level in the last two years, since November 17, 2022.

Gelex, the shareholder holding 10 percent of Eximbank’s charter capital, also suffered from the rumour. After EIB provided information about the shareholder with more than 1 percent of capital in accordance with the Law on Credit Institutions, rumors about Gelex and its leader spread on social networks and groups of securities investors, causing anxiety.

On November 14, the prices of GEX shares decreased by VND800 per share, or 4.21 percent, with 12 million shares traded. This was the trading session with the sharpest decline since the day Gelex acquired 10 percent of EIB’s charter capital. This was also the day when unverified news about Gelex and its leaders were spread.

This could be why GEX share prices dropped from VND21,500 per share on August 12, when Gelex announced it had become a big shareholder of Eximbank, to VND18,200 per share on November 14, a decrease of 15.3 percent. It is estimated that Gelex’s capitalization dropped VND2.8 trillion.

An experienced investor told VietNamNet that shareholders of both Eximbank and Gelex were feeling very anxious 

“We know that negative news may come from banks’ internal divisions when they undergo restructuring and change development strategies. However, even when EIB and GEX released notices to calm the public down, investors still felt insecure,” he said.

Prior to that, on August 8, 2024, the shares of Hoang Huy Investment and Financial Services (TCH – HOSE) were bargained away at just VND16,600 per share, and its capitalization value dropped by VND1 trillion. The was believed to be caused by the rumor that the business was investigated by the State Securities Commission (SSC) about transactions in 2021-2022.

Vingroup was also a victim of a false rumor some years ago. As it is a powerful economic group, any news about it would have great impact on the market. On July 11, 2022, the stock market vibrated with rumors related to its president Pham Nhat Vuong.

As a result, three shares related to Vingroup immediately plunged at the opening of the trading session. The market price of the shares dropped by 3-5 percent compared with the previous session. At that moment, the capitalization values of the three shares dropped by trillions of dong.

Of course, when attacked by rumors, businesses have to speak up to reassure investors. However, the slow price recoveries of many shares show that rumors can seriously harm the reputation of brands.

“There is false information which causes to loss of tens of trillions of dong in businesses’ capitalization,” Quang said.

Under Decree 15, the subjects spreading fake news will be subject to fines of VND5-10 million. However, the fines are not high enough to deter violators.

In the case of Vingroup, just within one trading session, the stock assets of Vingroup president Pham Nhat Vuong dropped by $300 million, according to Forbes. Meanwhile, the individual that spread the false rumor was fined only VND7.5 million.

Tuan Nguyen