Vietnam stock markets up 2.6 per cent on dollar crackdown

Mar 10, 2011, 5:58 GMT

Hanoi - Vietnam's stock market rose Thursday after authorities strengthened a crackdown on dollar transactions in free markets in a move to restore confidence in the local currency.

Authorities on Thursday stepped up their actions against illegal dollar trading and hoarding, including confiscating and revoking the licences of gold shops, where dollars are often traded, that break the rules.

The VN Index finished up 2.6 per cent, closing at 482, up from 470 on Wednesday, the biggest one-day gain since December 13.

'The government's measures to ban dollar trading in the free market are a really good move,' said an analyst at FPT Securities in Hanoi. 'People will not find it so easy to trade in dollars, and stocks will become a more attractive investment channel.'

A trader from the Saigon Securities Inc in Ho Chi Minh City agreed. 'I think the government's move will drive people to change dollars into dong and invest in stock markets,' he said.

The stock market has lost 8.3 per cent of its value since February 10.

Read more about Vietnam Markets