Vietnam Foreign Net Selling Hits VND 122 Trillion in 10 Months, Topping 2025 Record

Overview

Foreign investors net sold nearly VND 122 trillion on HOSE across the first 10 months of 2026, according to VietstockFinance data cited by the source, already surpassing the roughly VND 111 trillion record recorded for the whole of 2025. October alone produced more than VND 24 trillion of net selling, with Masan Consumer (MCH) and HDBank (HDB) leading the outflow list. The persistent selling pressure coincided with a 1.5% monthly decline in the VN-Index to 1,741.62 points at the 30 October close.

Key Facts

• Foreign investors net sold nearly VND 122 trillion on HOSE in the first 10 months of 2026, versus a full-year 2025 record of about VND 111 trillion.
• October 2026 net selling exceeded VND 24 trillion, the highest monthly figure since October 2025, with 20 of 22 trading sessions in net-sell territory.
• The single heaviest session was 09/10, with more than VND 9.7 trillion of net selling.
• MCH led October outflows at VND 9.6 trillion, followed by HDB at nearly VND 3.4 trillion, PNJ at over VND 2.1 trillion, FPT at nearly VND 1.9 trillion and ACB at over VND 1.4 trillion.
• MSN was the top net-buy name on HOSE at nearly VND 645 billion; on a matched-order basis alone, MCH was actually net bought by nearly VND 40 billion.
• On HNX, foreign investors net sold nearly VND 139 billion in October, concentrated in PVS (nearly VND 152 billion) and CEO (over VND 134 billion), while PPE (nearly VND 74 billion) and IDC (over VND 72 billion) saw net buying.
• Bloomberg ETF flow data for 28/09 to 23/10 showed continued outflows, led by VanEck at USD 16.2 million, with Global X MSCI and DB FTSE each around USD 1.2 million.

What Happened

The figures, compiled by VietstockFinance, show that foreign investors have not recorded a single net-buying month on HOSE so far in 2026. October’s VND 24 trillion-plus outflow was the largest since October 2025, and the cumulative VND 122 trillion total has already eclipsed the prior full-year record. The source notes that a large share of the MSN and HDB activity consisted of block trades in which foreign holders sold to domestic investors, meaning the transactions did not create on-market selling pressure; stripping out block trades, MCH was a net buy of nearly VND 40 billion.

The broader market absorbed the flows with modest losses. The VN-Index closed at 1,741.62 on 30 October, down 1.5% for the month and at one point retreating to near 1,677 points, while the HNX-Index fell 7% to 252.74. The article also cites Trần Thái Bình, senior director of market research and development at OCBS Securities, who argued that real foreign capital inflows need time to materialise even after FTSE Russell’s upgrade of Vietnam took effect on 21/09, a view consistent with the outflows tracked since.

Market Context

MCH, listed on HOSE, closed at VND 133,500 on 3 November 2026, with the October block sale representing a large share of the stock’s foreign-held register rather than sustained on-screen distribution. HDB closed at VND 21,800 and FPT at VND 50,400 on the same date, while PNJ traded at VND 15 on 4 November on volume of about 3.97 million shares. The selling spans banking, technology, retail and consumer staples, consistent with a market-wide de-risking by foreign portfolios rather than a sector-specific call, and it has persisted despite the FTSE Russell upgrade that took effect on 21 September 2026.

Strategic Significance

The key distinction for long-term investors is between index-level foreign ownership reduction and genuine on-market selling pressure. Block trades in HDB and MSN transfer shares from foreign to domestic holders without depressing the order book, and MCH’s matched-order net buying suggests the headline VND 9.6 trillion figure overstates the pressure on the free float. The larger question is whether the post-upgrade inflow thesis is merely delayed or structurally weaker than expected; the ETF data showing VanEck redemptions of USD 16.2 million points to continued passive outflows even as Vietnam’s index classification improves.

What to Watch

• Monthly VietstockFinance foreign flow data for November 2026, to see whether the streak of no net-buying months on HOSE extends.
• Further disclosures on the MCH and HDB block trades, including buyer identity and any change in foreign-ownership limits.
• Bloomberg ETF flow data for the weeks following 23/10, particularly VanEck and Global X MSCI redemption trends.
• VN-Index behaviour around the 1,677-point October low as a test of whether foreign supply is being absorbed.
• Any FTSE Russell commentary on actual passive inflows following the 21/09 upgrade effective date.