Why foreigners dumped Vietnamese stocks in 2023

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange closed Friday with foreigners being sellers for a 13th day in a row, with their net sales of VND7.86 trillion ($324 million) being higher than in October and November combined.

Their selling in the year to date has been worth VND22 trillion.

FiinTrade data also shows that actively managed funds have been selling this year while exchange-traded funds, which often track a basket of stocks, have been buying.

Actively managed funds only sold out because the market is unfavorable, Huynh Minh Tuan, chairman of fund management company FIDT, said.

FIDT data shows that actively managed funds have lost 25-30% this year, and pressure from their investors has forced them to sell.

Analysts at SGI Capital said foreigners saw risks in some stocks and not the market as a whole, with data still being positive about the market, and there are no systemic risks.

Mirae Asset head analyst in the retail customers department, Dinh Minh Tri, said foreigners sold in Vietnam and shifted to developed markets, which they expect to recover as interest rates are set to fall early next year.

This is also happening in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand, he said.