There was a spike in interest in Vietnam’s Vinhomes stock today after the firm announced it would buy back 370 million shares. Vinhomes made the decision reportedly because it believes its shares to be undervalued, Dan Tri has reported.
Foreign investors, however, did not seem to have agreed, using the increased local demand to net-dump 1,935,886 shares worth around US$72 million. This has further diminished foreign ownership in the firm–at the start of last year foreign investors held about 24.30 percent of Vinhomes shares, that number has since come down to just 15.08 percent.
This could be for several reasons. For one, Vinhomes is part of the Vingroup ecosystem which also includes the billion-dollar loss-making electric car company Vinfast. Of note, concerns were raised earlier this year that Vinhomes funds could be used to support its fledgling sister car company. That said, real estate in Vietnam has also had problems across the border stemming from a number of firms in the past borrowing more than they needed and spending it on all manner of business lines that were unrelated to their business. Electric cars for example.
See also: Vietnam’s Real Estate Market Recovery 2024: Unpacked