Ashui.com

Real estate and construction material businesses are set to reward investors as business picks up in the second half of this year.

Construction material businesses are expected to report hefty sales in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.

In what is usually a low period for construction last month, steel producers said their profits had not fallen over previous months.

Ho Chi Minh City-based SMC Investment Trading Joint Stock Co., a steel trader, is reported to have gained VND8.3 billion (US$466,000) last month.

Nguyen Ngoc Hanh, head of the company’s Board of Directors, said SMC’s profit by the end of August had increased by 20 percent year-on-year.

Hanh said they have set the target of raising annual profit by 30 percent over last year.

Steel maker Hoa Sen Group (HSG) has also reported profits in August of about VND60 billion, saying the real number after auditing could be higher.

The company has sold more goods at higher prices recently.

Land and housing businesses often wait until the second half of the year to announce their first-half profits in order to delay paying corporate tax.

To be at the frontline of second half profits, investors can buy shares now, when the price seems high compared to the first-half, but is reasonable compared to the possibly higher year-end prices.

Shares of the Thu Duc Housing Development Joint Stock Co. (TDH) have inched up lately on reports the company is running into big money from selling around one million shares at Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

Also, share prices of enterprises that are selling assets to realize targeted profits are likely to increase by the end of this year.

Among these are Vietnam’s largest listed freight-forwarding company General Forwarding & Agency Joint Stock Co. (GMD), the Saigon General Service Corp. (SVC) which listed on HoSE in May, and Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Co. – the sixth-biggest company on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

GMD had already surged last month and early this month and so has the North Kinh Do Food Joint Stock Co. (NKD), one of Vietnam’s leading confectionary makers.