Self-trading flourished, profits of many securities companies flourished

	The Ministry of Finance and Security Commission has drastically handled cases of manipulating securities
	Mr. Hoang Van Thu appointed as Vice Chairman of Securities Commission
	Foreign banks accelerate retail expansion in Vietnam

Cash flow has shown signs of returning to the market. Photo: ST

Vietnam's economy showed signs of prosperity again in the second quarter of 2023 after many policies to remove difficulties that the economy is facing. The stock market was also supported by macro factors, especially as domestic investors started to return to the market. VN-Index rose 11.2%, outperforming indexes in Southeast Asia and equal to the general index of emerging markets (MSCI EM Index increased by 11.65%).

Stock groups have cyclical nature, including financial stocks, which gained well and recovered strongly from the bottom. Market liquidity improved when the average trading value in the first 6 months of the year on all 3 exchanges reached 13.7 trillion VND/session. Individual investors bought 9.5 trillion VND net that matched orders in the second quarter of 2023.

The positivity of the general market has significantly supported the business results of securities companies in the second quarter of 2023. Notably, VIX Securities Joint Stock Company recorded operating revenue in the second quarter of 2023 reaching VND 688 billion, up 114% compared to the second quarter of 2022. After deducting expenses, VIX's profit after tax was VND 566 billion, an impressive growth of 876%.

According to the explanation of Mr. Truong Ngoc Lan, General Director of VIX, in the second quarter of 2023, the Vietnamese stock market witnessed prosperous trading sessions, the cash flow showed signs of returning to the market, many stocks increased by 60-80% in value compared to the end of 2022. Therefore, the profit target from financial assets recorded through profit and loss of VIX compared to the same period in 2022 increased by 94.5% compared to the same period in 2022.

Besides, the increase in equity capital helped VIX diversify financial investments, holding assets to maturity brought a profit of VND 154 billion. The diversification of lending products also brought profits from receivables and loans in the second quarter of 2023, increasing by nearly 34%, etc.

Accumulated in the first 6 months of 2023, VIX securities achieved a profit after tax of VND 576 billion. Thus, compared with the plan set out at the beginning of the year of VND 540 billion, the company has completed 107% of the whole year plan.

BIBV Securities Joint Stock Company (BSI) also converted from profit to loss with a profit after tax of VND 123.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023, while the same period last year lost VND 6 billion. Accumulating 6 months, BSI net profit is VND 221 billion, up 187% over the same period in 2022.

Similarly, Rong Viet Securities Joint Stock Company (VDS) also recorded a net profit of VND 105 billion in the second quarter of 2023, while the same period in 2022 lost VND 234 billion. In the first half of this year, VDS's profit after tax is VND 161 billion, much better than the loss of nearly VND 129 billion in the first half of last year.

According to records from securities companies, self-trading is the bright spot that brings growth to companies in the second quarter of 2023. For example, at SSI Securities Joint Stock Company, the profit from financial assets recognized as profit/loss (FVTPL) increased by 63% to nearly VND 692 billion. FVTPL's financial asset loss plummeted by nearly 90% to VND 32.3 billion. Excluding self-trading expenses, the self-trading segment has a profit of more than VND 644 billion, 4 times higher than the same period last year.

The positivity in self-trading not only helped offset the decline in brokerage, margin lending, underwriting, and consulting segments, but also helped SSI report a profit after tax of more than VND 525 billion in the second quarter of 2023, up 27% over the same period last year.

At BSI, the profit from financial assets recorded through profit/loss increased by 81%, reaching VND 121.1 billion. Loss from financial assets FVTPL decreased by 75% to nearly VND 30 billion. Accordingly, this segment recorded a profit of nearly VND 90 billion in the quarter, and in the same period, self-trading loss was more than VND 52 billion.

Similarly at VDS, profit from financial assets of FVTPL this quarter reached VND 48 billion. While in the same period last year, a loss was 20 VND billion. Expenses from FVTPL's asset loss were negative VND 68 billion, more positive than nearly negative VND 270 billion in the same period last year. Excluding self-trading expenses, VDS made a profit of nearly VND 100 billion in self-trading, while in the same period last year, VDS lost more than VND 290 billion in the second quarter of last year.