The September 28 trading session showed a clear divergence across Vietnam's stock market. While many stocks fell to their floor prices with sell orders totaling tens of millions of shares, some hit their upper limits with large buy queues.

Novaland (NVL), chaired by Bui Cao Nhat Quan, was among the most notable decliners. The stock fell 6.75 percent to VND11,050, marking its sixth consecutive losing session and its lowest price since listing. At the close, more than 54.3 million NVL shares remained queued at the floor price, equivalent to around 2.3 percent of its outstanding shares.

The decline wiped around VND1.9 trillion off Novaland's market capitalization in a single session, bringing it down to VND26.5 trillion.

PNJ faced a similar situation. Shares of Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC, chaired by Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, fell the daily limit of 7 percent to VND30,700, their lowest level in nearly six years. More than 27 million shares remained queued for sale at the floor price, equivalent to around 5.3 percent of outstanding shares, while just over 2 million shares changed hands.

Compared with around VND83,000 per share in early March, PNJ has lost more than 63 percent of its value.

Beyond NVL and PNJ, several real estate stocks also fell sharply. KOS hit its floor price with more than 20 million shares queued for sale. Stocks such as ST8 and STH also came under heavy selling pressure.

On the other side, BVH hit its upper limit with nearly 619,000 shares queued for purchase. Several large-cap stocks, including BSR, GAS, VHM, VNM, VJC and VCB, also gained, helping limit the market's decline.

The VN-Index ended the session down 4.43 points at 1,780.68.

Benefits for cash-rich giants, pressure for capital-strapped firms 

In a rising-interest-rate environment, cash becomes an especially valuable asset. Companies holding large cash reserves not only have a buffer to withstand difficult market conditions but can also earn significant financial income from bank deposits.

Conversely, businesses with limited cash but large funding needs face increasingly expensive financing.

At the end of September, the race to attract deposits pushed the highest deposit rates at some banks to 9-10 percent per year. Meanwhile, actual interest rates on some loans could reach 16-18 percent per year.

This is adding pressure on companies that need to take out new loans, refinance existing debt or raise capital to meet financial obligations.

Novaland is a notable example. According to its first-half 2026 financial statements, the company's total principal debt from loans and bonds stood at around VND72.9 trillion at the end of June, including more than VND31.3 trillion in bank loans.

Its bank debt exceeded VND31.3 trillion, up more than VND4.1 trillion from the beginning of the year. Short-term bond debt stood at nearly VND13.2 trillion, while long-term bond debt exceeded VND10.5 trillion.

Amid cash-flow and financial-obligation pressures, Novaland continues to restructure debt, dispose of assets and raise additional capital. The company plans to offer nearly 800.7 million shares to existing shareholders at VND10,000 each, raising around VND8.007 trillion in October.

Of this amount, more than VND5.953 trillion is expected to be used to partially or fully repay principal on 13 bond lots, with the remainder allocated to financial obligations at several subsidiaries.

Under the plan, most of the capital Novaland expects to raise will go toward debt repayment and other financial obligations.

In a high-interest-rate environment, funding costs may come under additional pressure. Taking on more expensive debt could increase financial expenses and cash-flow pressures. If the company issues new shares, existing shareholders seeking to maintain their ownership stakes will need to contribute additional capital, while NVL closed at VND11,050 on September 28, 10.5 percent above the proposed offering price of VND10,000.

PNJ presents a different situation, but it is also seeking additional financial resources for its business operations. The company expects a post-tax loss of VND6.271 trillion in 2026, a complete reversal from its original profit target of VND3.4 trillion, mainly because it plans to set aside VND7.071 trillion in provisions related to its product buyback and exchange policy.

In contrast, companies with large cash reserves and bank deposits can record additional financial income when interest rates remain high.

Bao Viet is one example. As of the end of June 2026, Bao Viet held more than VND170 trillion in cash and deposits. Some of its VND deposits with terms of around 12 months carried interest rates of 8.6-8.9 percent per year. Given the scale of its deposits, a one-percentage-point change in interest rates can result in a significant difference in financial income.

Manh Ha