Business Channel 2007-0624&26

Script:

Thank you. And with that, it is the start of another day of trade.

Also I thought, here at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, it takes more than a few bangs of the gong to get things going. Various VIPs make a go and champagne 1 is served. I stay away from the red feast but keep my eyes fixed 2 on the board. Even though the floor may not be full of action, this is one of the hottest markets on the planet.
In 2006, the exchange soared nearly 145%. It’s gained an additional 40% through June this year.
In terms of total market cap it was roughly half a billion dollars at the start of last year. Today it's about 15 billion. And according to the head of the Exchange, it's just gonna get bigger.
"By the end of the year, the market cap will double."
Vietnam is gripped by stock market mania 3. Here at Saigon Security Inc. or SSI, punters rush to counter to place their orders. I check up the man with the red sack. He takes out bundles and bundles of cash until 1 billion Dong is on the table, that's just over 60,000 dollars. After the orders are placed, the punters simply hang around, on the ready for any sudden moves.
Internet trading is not allowed in Vietnam. So this is what you get. A stuffy 4 room crammed 5 with hundreds of people who can just stare at the screen for hours.
SSI also caters 6 to 2000 overseas investors 7, eager for exposure to one of Asia's fastest growing economies. Everyone wants in. And Hanoi is on alert. Worried about a speculative 8 frenzy 9 and possible collapse 10, the government is considering whether to order foreign investors to keep their capital in Vietnam for one year. There's plenty of talk about bubbles, but the big guns are taking a long-term view.

"I think the best is still to come. You have in the existing 200 listed company probably less than 10 major stocks which used to be state-owned companies, but a few hundreds are to come in the coming 2-3 years."

"For me, Vietnam is one of the single most interesting markets and economies in Asia within the context of frontier markets. For me it remains 11 the most compelling 10-year buy."

But any sudden slide would likely hurt the little guy, like 25-year-old student Vienun with his 2000-dollar investment.

”No, I lost. I'm actually losing.”
Ouch! And it’s not even bear season yet.

Kristie Lu Stout 12, CNN, Ho Chi Minh City

notes:

Market capitalization, or market cap, is a measurement of corporate 13 or economic size equal to the stock price times the number of shares outstanding of a public company. As owning stock represents owning the company, including all its assets, capitalization represents the public opinion of a company's net worth and is a determining factor in stock valuation. Likewise, the capitalization of stock markets or economic regions may be compared to other economic indicators 14. The global market capitalization was $51.225 trillion in March 2007, indicating a dominant 15 force in the global economy.