VietNamNet Bridge – Instead of pouring more money into businesses to become big shareholders, a lot of big businessmen are trying to sell stocks in an effort to preserve their capital.

Dang Thanh Tam, the richest stock millionaire in 2007, has registered the sale of 22 million SQC shares with the estimated value of 1400 billion dong.

Tam is not alone. The news about the stock sales by many other “big guys” has repeatedly appeared on local newspapers these days, which has been described as the “movement of big guys rushing to sell stocks to get cash.”

Commenting about the movement, analysts have said that this shows the big difficulties a lot of big businessmen are facing.

The economic recession spares no one. Quoc Cuong Gia Lai, a big real estate group has been sued for a controversial real estate project in Da Nang City. By the end of the second quarter of 2012, the big guy still had incurred the loss of 2980 billion dong. While the inventory volume has climbed to 2846 billion dong, the cash fund is getting depleted with the modest balance of 15.3 billion dong.

Binh An seafood company has been chased by creditors for the last many months, who repeatedly ask Binh An to declare bankruptcy, despite the news that Dieu Hien, the real owner of Binh An would return to Vietnam after the disease treatment period in Singapore.

The good pieces of news about Binh An, including the bailout packages committed by some big guys and commercial banks, still cannot help survive the enterprise.

Most recently, Doan Nguyen Duc, President of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, also one of the richest stock millionaires, has bought back 1.1 million HAG shares. However, the information could not help restore the investors’ confidence. Most investors still keep indifferent to the news.

Commenting about the decision by the owner of Hoang Anh Gia Lai to buy 3 million shares of the group, investors believe that the move aims to reassure the public rather than an investment affair.

Prior to that, the information that Hoang Anh Gia Lai incurred the debt of 15,500 billion dong stunned the public. Though the conglomerate later tried to prove that its debt was 6400 billion dong instead of 15,500 billion dong, Hoang Anh Gia Lai still got “B” for long term local and foreign currency debts from Fitch.

Observers believe that the big guys are trying to sell stocks to take back capital shows that they are too thirsty for cash.

They said the move by the big shareholders to sell stocks shows two big problems.

First, the economic recession has made everyone suffer, including the richest people.

Second, the thirst for capital has become so serious that the big guys still have to sell shares, though they know that this would badly affect the image and the brand of enterprises which have been built up for the last tens of years.

The stock market has been shaken with the “explosion of the SME Securities Company bomb,” when both Chair and Deputy Chair of the company were arrested.

In fact, SME shares have become “scrap papers” when they have been bargained away at just 700 dong per share, the sum of money which is just enough to buy a glass of ice tea.

While Dang Thanh Tam made public the registration to sell a “mount of shares,” some other big guys have been trying to sell shares in secret. President of Kien Long Bank, for example, has been imposed a fine for selling 876,450 STB shares.

Manh Ha