Foreign investors sold a net of more than 24,000 billion dong, or about $930 million, of shares on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in October, the largest monthly outflow this year, VnExpress reported, citing exchange data. Net selling since January now exceeds 122,000 billion dong (about $4.7 billion), close to last year's record of 125,000 billion dong. The market enters November with weak liquidity and cautious money flows, according to VietnamPlus.
October in numbers, compiled by KBVN+
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Foreign buying in October | About 38,000 billion dong, lowest this year |
| Foreign selling in October | Nearly 62,000 billion dong |
| Net selling in October | Over 24,000 billion dong (about $930 million) |
| Net-selling streak | 20 sessions, longest in two years |
| Year-to-date net selling | Over 122,000 billion dong (about $4.7 billion) |
| Net selling, week of 26-30 Oct | About 2,692 billion dong |
| Share of HoSE-listed stock still held by foreigners | About 12.5% |
Masan Consumer (MCH) faced the heaviest selling, with one session of net outflows near 10,000 billion dong, followed by HDBank, PNJ, FPT and ACB, each above 1,000 billion dong. In the last week of October, FPT topped the net-selling list at 782 billion dong, while MSN, VCB and TCB saw net buying.
Why foreigners are selling
Analysts cited by VnExpress gave three reasons: global money is leaving emerging markets for tech-driven growth in the US, Japan and China; global interest rates remain high while Vietnamese equity returns look less competitive; and funds moved out of step around Vietnam's market upgrade. Passive funds invested about $220 million before FTSE Russell's upgrade to secondary emerging market status took effect on 21 September 2026, while active funds took profits.
Market and outlook
The VN-Index fell 32.53 points in the final week of October to 1,741.62, after gaining more than 68 points the week before. The VN30 lost 2.73% to 1,855.04 and the HNX-Index 1.48% to 252.74, while average HoSE volume fell 9.38% to just over 645 million shares a session. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq lost 5.3% in October on worries about AI spending. BSC flagged support at 1,735 points, and Kirin Securities (CSI) said the index could retest 1,738-1,740 points. Bank stocks such as TCB, HDB, VPB, CTG and TPB are on analysts' watch lists. TPS Securities said the worst of the outflow may be over but selling is unlikely to stop soon while US Treasury yields stay high and the dollar remains strong. Luong Duy Phuoc of Kafi Securities does not expect foreigners to turn net buyers in the fourth quarter. The upgrade was discussed at the Vietnam Capital Market Forum 2026 on 30 October, where State Securities Commission chair Vu Thi Chan Phuong called it an important milestone but not the final destination.
What comes next
Finance Ministry Circular 145/2026/TT-BTC, allowing securities lending with collateral of at least 110% will take effect on 16 November 2026. Most experts quoted by VnExpress expect foreign flows to shift from mid-2027, as foreign holdings are already low and only 10% of an estimated $2.5 billion in upgrade-related passive inflows has arrived. Nguyen Trieu Vinh of Vietcombank Fund Management said at an October conference that this money could balance foreign supply and demand, or even bring foreigners back as net buyers.