The matching volume on VND shares on March 25 was 3 times higher than the average session level over the past year and was the 2nd highest liquidity in VNDIRECT’s listing history. Check out the financial news of the day.
Panic of VND stock holders in the market
The stock market session on March 25th experienced a sudden surge in transactions involving VND shares of VNDIRECT. These shares were matched swiftly, resulting in a trading volume exceeding 86 million units, equivalent to 7% of the company’s total outstanding shares. This figure is three times higher than the average session level observed over the past year and marks the second-highest liquidity in VND’s listing history, surpassed only by the session of July 6, 2023, which saw 105 million units matched.
Strong selling pressure primarily led to the reversal of VND stocks. Initially positioned in the green price zone, the stock at one juncture experienced a loss of over 3% during the session before witnessing bottom fishing activity, which helped mitigate the decline. By the session’s close on March 25th, the market price of VND had decreased by 1.44% to 23,950 VND per share. Despite this, the market capitalization still stood at over 29,000 billion VND, nearly 8% higher than at the beginning of 2024.
Additionally, on March 25th, VNDIRECT officially addressed issues with the company’s online trading system. It was disclosed that on the morning of March 24th, the entire system had been targeted by an international organization, rendering the trading platform temporarily inaccessible.
VNDirect's system is under attack from international hackers
VNDIRECT assured customers that all their information and assets remained secure and unaffected by the attack. The incident was stated to only impact ongoing transactions, with efforts underway to restore the entire system and minimize disruptions to customer transactions. Collaborative efforts were being made with leading technology corporations in Vietnam and coordination with the Department of Cyber Security and Crime Prevention utilizing advanced technology (A05) to ensure market safety.
Subsequently, the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) issued a notice to temporarily suspend remote trading and online trading on listed stock exchanges, registered stock exchanges, Derivative securities trading, debt instrument trading, and individual corporate bond trading of VNDIRECT to HNX from March 25th until the resolution of the issue by VNDirect.
Currently, VNDIRECT stands as the securities company with the third-largest charter capital in the industry, surpassing 12,000 billion VND, following SSI and VPBank. Despite recording a 6% decrease in operating revenue in 2023 compared to 2022, pre-tax profit still saw a significant increase of 44% compared to 2022, amounting to 2,482 billion VND.
It takes time to bring the system back
Commenting on the cyberattack targeting VNDirect Securities Joint Stock Company (VNDirect), cybersecurity experts have suggested that resolving the issue and recovering the system could take anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, or possibly even up to a month. Given VNDirect’s extensive customer base, the full impact of this incident on customers remains uncertain. However, the complete shutdown of the system and the prolonged recovery time indicate a significant penetration by hackers into the system.
The attack occurred when an international organization targeted VNDirect’s entire system, resulting in the temporary inaccessibility of the trading platform. As of 8:30 p.m. on March 26, 2024, the system remained inaccessible. VNDirect’s technology team has been working diligently to restore service, but due to the complexity of the data infrastructure, the process of reconnecting is expected to require additional time.