OTC Market News

 

In the morning on May 11, a rumour was circulating that a completely new investor had paid VND30bil to get all the shares, not in fact the investor who had ordered the shares initially. One story had it that the investor paid for all 1.5mil shares at VND20-21,500/share. Another said that only just over 1 million shares were purchased.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Chief Secretariat of the Military Bank Board of Directors, on May 11 denied the rumour that the bank had purchased the 1.5mil controversial shares in order to avoid negative consequences on the trading of its shares.

Ngoc said that some ten investors in the case of the 1.5mil shares had worked out the trouble themselves, while the bank only helped the sellers and buyer transfer money and get the said volume of shares.

“The Military Bank has confirmed that nearly VND25bil was transferred into accounts as payment for the blocked shares,” Ngoc said.

The story began on May 5, when an investor ordered 1.5mil Military Bank shares at VND32bil but did not pay brokers. Ten sellers then went to the Military Bank, asking the bank to block the shares in order to protect their benefits.

Transactions on the OTC market are carried out based on honour among brokers. Sellers give shares first, and then get paid, with no contract signed and no deposit put down. If one wants to purchase shares, one just has to make a call or draw up a handwritten document.

Ngoc from MB said that the bank advises investors to use safer payment methods. In principle, investors can make share transactions at OTC divisions of securities companies. However, in general, investors only complete formalities to transfer the ownership of the shares, while the sellers and buyers negotiate themselves about payment methods.