Power cuts drive brokers and investors crazy

Unexpected and frequent power cuts are causing participants in Vietnam’s stock markets to miss opportunities to earn big money.

Though Thang Long Securities Company has a generator that keeps the air conditioner running, still it was still very hot at the company’s trading floor on Kim Ma street in Hanoi.

General Director Le Dinh Ngoc said the company has been doing its best to create good conditions for the investors use its trading floor to make transactions. “Transactions made by investors will not be interrupted even if the power is cut unexpectedly,” he said. “However, we cannot make the room as cool as in normal days if the power is off, because our generator is not powerful enough to provide electricity for the whole big building”.

At APEC Securities Company on Le Dai Hanh Street, the officers of the company had to bear the heat, so as to keep the trading floor cool for securities investors. Because power has been cut so regularly during the hours the stock market is open, the company decided to use the air conditioner only on the third floor, where securities investors sit to watch the board and trade stocks. On other floors, only computers, light and fans are turned on. There is no power for the lift in the nine story building.

The director of another Hanoi brokerage firm complained that sometimes securities investors blame the company when the electronic board ‘dies’ while they are making transactions. “It was not our fault. But we still must apologise to our investors,” he said.

Tam, a big securities investor in Hanoi, said that the losses investors may incur can be very big if the power is cut unexpectedly and they cannot update information. “We may lose big money just because of a 15 minute power cut,” she said. “Imagine that you want to sell securities, but you cannot because you cannot up to date with information,” she said.

Saigon Securities Incorporate (SSI) feels lucky because power has been cut to its Hanoi branch only in the afternoon these last two weeks. An SSI officer joked that it’s because SSI is located near the EVN (power company) headquarters. Even so, he added, it has been very hot in the offices in the afternoon, because the company’s generator does not provide enough power to run air conditioners.

Ban Viet Securities Company has been lucky because it has suffered no power cuts in recent days. However, Nguyen Quang Bao of Ban Viet expects more outages sooner or later. The company is well prepared for when the electricity is cut. If the power is off, the company will run its generator and, if the generator breaks down, brokerage officers will run to nearby places to make trades for clients.

Habubank Securities Company has also escaped power cuts the last couple of weeks. However, Giang, Marketing Director of the company is “not sure that no power cut will happen in the future. They are unavoidable.”

VnExpress

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam energy, Vietnam power shortage