Suspending the operation of securities companies is the heaviest handed punishment imposed on unprofitable companies. However, the punishment does not have much significance.

Incentives seek to attract rental housing investors; Opportunities in slumping real estate sector; 5bln USD funded for high-speed railway linking VN, Laos; Preferential credits give strength to poor households

Steel consumption increase ‘shortlived'; Building material businesses on verge of bankruptcy; US$200 million shopping centre to take shape in Hanoi; Footwear businesses receive orders until Q3

What will happen if Vietnam allows foreign investors to hold 50 percent or more of listed companies’ shares?

Seafood industry faces slow export growth; Province to scrap industrial clusters; $8 million animal feed factory opens; Banks favour Government bonds; Fund sells off stake in mobile retailer

US$57 million Diamond field project launched; Vietnam-EU FTA under discussion; Footwear firms buoyed by prospect of EU deal; Auto sales plunge in February; Gambling in Hanoi still open only to foreigners

VietNamNet Bridge – The stock market was back on an uptrend by the end of last week but investor confidence has yet to really recover, which drove trading down on both national stock exchanges.

The police have set up a committee to investigate the origin of the fabricated information, speculation about that the President of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam was arrested.

Shares on the nation’s two stock exchanges retreated last week on false rumours related to a devaluation of the dong, petrol prices increasing and that the Bank for Investment and Development chairman Tran Bac Ha had been arrested.

Stocks are now the choice of many investors in the context of the gloomy stock market, unclear gold market and stable dollar price. Trillions of dong are believed to be pumped into the stock market.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Despite challenges ahead, experts in the banking and securities industry expect the stock market to see a gradual recovery given an expected improvement in economic conditions this year.

Accepting to pay 30-50 percent higher than the market prices, foreign investors have shown their strong determination to buy the stocks of Vietnamese enterprises now, when the stock prices are at the deepest low.

Analysts all keep optimistic when giving predictions about the stock market performance in 2013 after several years of staying gloomy.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Finance issued a new revised regulation on January 25 which, from March 8, will increase the monitoring of securities trading.

The merger of the two stock exchanges of Hanoi and HCM City is expected to be decided in 2013, after the State Securities Commission (SSC) submits the merger plan to the Prime Minister.

 Vietnam’s economy still difficult but shows positive signs; January’s trade surplus reaches US$200 million; Thailand wants to foster rice trade ties with Vietnam; Delta farmers in rice price dilemma

 VietNamNet Bridge – The State Securities Commission (SSC) is considering a pilot project allowing foreigners to raise their stakes in listed companies, a policy shift that has drawn varied reactions from market insiders.

The cash flow has been heading for the stock market since the beginning of the year. However, it’s still unclear if the tendency is stable.

The majority of the names listed in the top 30 stock millionaire families have seen their assets increasing despite the economic downturn and the declines of the stock indexes.

Nearly half of the members on the list of top 50 stock millionairesses have been managing big enterprises in the stock market.