The number of newly registered securities accounts in September is nearly 115,000, marking the seventh consecutive month such figures have surpassed the 100,000-mark, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD).

Investors at a securities company in Hanoi. Photo: Tran Quynh

Upon breaking down, domestic individual investors made up 99.8% of total new accounts, while investment organizations claimed the rest.

The number of new accounts opened by foreign investors was 152  in September, or 107 less than last month. This totaled 3,235 in a nine-month period and around 38,306 valid securities accounts in Vietnam as of September 30.

Experts suggested a high number of new securities accounts amid the social-distancing rules in place in many cities and provinces was thanks to the adoption by securities companies of technology in customers’ identity verification (eKYC), which allows investors to open accounts online.

For the nine-month period, the total new securities account was estimated at over 3.7 million, of which domestic investors dominated the stock market landscape with over 3.69 million, and around 38,300 accounts were opened by their foreign peers.

A report from Mirae Asset Vietnam Securities Company (MASVN) suggested the modest growth of the benchmark Vn-Index at below 1% in September against the previous month and the market liquidity on the declining trend demonstrated a cautious approach from investors at a time when restriction measures are gradually lifted.

The average liquidity per session in September was recorded at VND19 trillion ($836.1 million), down 10% against the previous month.

In September, investors maintained their net selling position with US$348 million, totaling nearly $2 billion in the January-September period and doubling the amount recorded in 2020.

On the contrary, domestic investors continue to be net buyers of VND9.6 trillion ($421.7 million) last month and serve as the stock market’s driving force. “In the context of a low-interest-rate environment, we expected the capital would continue to be channeled into the stock market in the coming time,” stated the MASVN.

In short term, however, securities experts warned there remain risks for investors, including pandemic uncertainty, rising bad debts in the banking sector, or foreign investors keeping pulling out money in the event that the FED changes monetary policy.