HCMC – Steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HOSE: HPG) will supply steel for rails, train stations, underpasses, and other components of key national railway projects, Tran Dinh Long, the company’s chairman, said at the annual general meeting on April 17.
He said the Government assigned the company to manufacture railway tracks during a meeting in September 2024, where the prime minister invited major corporations to contribute ideas for national economic development.
For conventional and high-speed rail projects, Hoa Phat Group can supply rail steel. While the company may not produce locomotives or train cars, it will manufacture high-quality steel to meet material requirements for the industry.
The domestic steel manufacturer is developing a new rail steel manufacturing plant at its Dung Quat 2 Iron and Steel Production Complex, at an estimated cost of VND13-14 trillion.
Construction is expected to begin in May, with the first rail products to be turned out by May 2027.
Hoa Phat also has plans to supply steel for wind and solar power projects developed by the Vietnam National Industry – Energy Group (Petrovietnam), as well as materials for automakers such as VinFast, Thanh Cong Group, and THACO.
Hoa Phat is aiming for VND170 trillion in revenue and VND15 trillion in after-tax profit this year, up by 21% and 25% compared to 2024, respectively.
Closing the trading market today, HPG lost 1.96% to VND24,950, with nearly 17.3 million shares changing hands.
On the southern exchange, the VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) shed 12.05 points, or 0.99%, against the final session last week to 1,207.07 points, with 181 gainers and 339 decliners.
Around 880.9 million shares worth VND18.6 trillion were traded, down 17.76% in volume and 13.57% in value compared to the previous session. Block deals accounted for 61.73 million shares valued at a total of VND1.2 trillion.
Although some stocks in the VN30 basket recovered and posted stronger gains in the afternoon session, mounting pressure from heavyweight VIC dragged the basket’s index down by nearly 12 points.
One standout was STB, which briefly hit the daily ceiling price before closing up 4.9% at VND40,450, with a trading volume of 34.15 million shares. Another pair of bank stocks, SHB and TPB, also made further gains, both closing up 2.7%.
Meanwhile, despite seeing a net purchase of nearly 2.5 million shares by foreign investors, VIC continued to hit the floor as selling pressure from domestic investors persisted. The stock closed down 7% at VND61,500 per share, wiping nearly four points off the benchmark index.
On the northern exchange, the HNX-Index fell by 1.63 points, or 0.76%, closing at 211.47 points, with 62 winners and 105 losers. The total trading volume reached 62.43 million shares worth a combined VND1 trillion.
