“I want to return to Vietnam to live till the end of my life,” said Nguyen Tri Lam, 61, a Vietnamese French. Lam is in the process of buying securities at the Securities Trading Company at East Asia Bank, HCM City. To prepare for his retirement, Lam deposits money in the bank and buys stocks.

Anyone can play, and women are most keen

Lam is following a trend among many overseas Vietnamese who play the Vietnamese stock market. “My family lives in France. I want to open an enterprise in Vietnam but I can’t take care of it myself only so I decided to invest in shares,” he said. Previously Lam had invested in Japan’s Nikkei stock exchange but now favours Vietnam, adding “Investing in shares yields higher profit than savings.”

Lam and other elderly overseas Vietnamese purchase shares in Vietnam as one way of investment for their future, watching the figures closely for activity. “In the morning when I drink a cup of coffee with my friends is also the moment for watching the ups and downs of the stock market,” he said. Here in Vietnam, he and his friends also closely follow the electronic display at the HCM City Securities Trading Centre when they can.

Then there's Do Dinh Chieu, 21, a student of the Economics Faculty of the National University in HCM City. Chieu began following securities two years ago through Bao Viet Securities Trading Company’s website. Then, after practicing on the 'virtual stock exchange,' Chieu began to buy shares.

“Initially I thought that I was the youngest to play with shares, but then I discovered that there were many young guys of the same age as me also putting in orders,” he said.
“They are like me. They join the stock market to watch and learn, and to prepare for their futures. Investors are very private but I was lucky to meet some experienced investors, who happened to be women,” he continued.

“I couldn't believe that such simple women were respectable stock investors,” he mused, revealing a common stereotype in the financial world.

Except for some upper-crust women of means, most trading ladies are 24 and upwards, professionals or middle-aged with a little disposable income. “The first time I knew about shares was the time my company sold preferential shares. Gradually, I was attracted by share buying and selling orders,” said L, an accountant for a joint stock company.

At first, L says, she didn’t know how to follow the figures at the securities trading centre, or didn’t understand P/E and ROE indexes. But with persistence, she became a successful investor. Like L, most women playing the stock market are staff at joint stock companies and learned about securities when their firms went public.

Securities are playing an increasingly larger role in the lives of many people, mainly staff at joint stock companies. According to a professional stock investor, all ranges of people have played the stocks, from doctors and engineers to lawyers, workers and students.
These are people who have financial knowledge and can read financial reports. However, they trade securities, not based on technical methods, but by sponging on other investors.
Stock trading has also become fashionable among pensioners. Minh, a Chinese Vietnamese who has accounts at the De Nhat Securities Trading Company in HCM City, explained: “I retired on a pension, so I have a lot of time to play with stocks. I began to participate in the stock market six months ago.”

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

In an auction for shares of the Binh Minh Plastic Company, Chieu lost his deposit. “I don’t have money to buy Binh Minh shares so I lost my deposit." Chieu then urged his sister to buy bonds in the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank). “I sought capital from my relatives to buy securities,” he explained. Some students have even invested the money that their family gives for one year of study (VND15-30mil) in stocks instead.

And Chieu says he plays the stocks himself, while more cautious investors, like Lam, who are not mobile enough to get to the trading centre every day, invest through brokers.
One common characteristic linking amateur investors is a shortage of capital. While professional investors have at least VND500mil – VND1bil (US$31,000-$62,000), amateur investors tend to start with scarcely more than VND30-50mil ($2,000-$3,500).

Whatever their level of commitment and means, stock investors must have three characteristics: knowledge, patience and a willingness to learn, said one professional investor. And as long as it only takes VND20-30mil to get in, there will be many new investors testing themselves as the market grows.