GROUP ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

STUDENT DETAILS

Student name: Phan Thanh Nhã Student ID number: 22004074

Student name: Phạm Bá Anh Student ID number: 22002853

Student name: Ong Hán Minh Student ID number: 22003521

Student name: Võ Đoàn Minh Thảo Student ID number: 22003492

Student name: Lê Công Hiếu Student ID number: 22003225

UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS

Unit name: Corporate Finance Unit number: CF-T123PWB-2

Tutorial/Lecture: Lecture Class day and time:
Lecturer or Tutor name: Dr. Võ Hồng Đức
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Title: Group Assignment

Length: 19 pages Due date: 16/04/2023 Date submitted: 16/04/2023

DECLARATION
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I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another (previous or
current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission from the Lecturer /
Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
No part of the assignment/product has been written/ produced for me by any other person except where
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checking).

Student’s signature: Nhã

Student’s signature: Bá Anh
Student’s signature: Minh
Student’s signature: Thảo
Student’s signature: Hiếu
Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been
signed.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
A. Introduction
1. Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Stock Index (VNI)
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Financial performance
2. Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company (HPG)
2.1 Business line:
2.2 Brief history
2.3 Ownership structure
2.4 Financial performance
3. Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PLX)
3.1 Business line:
3.2 Brief history
3.3 Ownership structure
3.4 Financial performance
4. Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company (HSG)
4.1 Business line:
4.2 Brief history
4.3 Ownership structure
4.4 Financial performance
5. Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM)
5.1 Business line: Dairy products including milk and yogurt
5.2 Brief History
5.3 Ownership structure
5.4 Financial performance

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 6. Vinhomes Joint Stock Company (VHM)
6.1 Business line:
6.2 Brief history
6.3 Ownership structure
6.4 Financial performance
B. Result and Discussion
1. Weight change per year
2. Annual Average Return
2.1 Market
2.2 Companies
2.3 Group’s portfolio
3. Total risk (Variance and Standard deviation)
3.1 Companies
3.2 Group’s portfolio
4. Systematic risk (Beta coefficient)
4.1 Beta of each company
4.2 Group’s portfolio
5. Risk Optimal Portfolio
5.1 Definition of Portfolio Variance
5.2 Calculation of the Group’s Portfolio Variance
5.3 Using Excel Solver to find optimal portfolio for each year
C. References
D. Appendices

3
 Executive Summary

This report analyzes the financial performance and ownership structure of five companies listed
on the Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Stock Index (VNI), namely Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company
(HPG), Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PLX), Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company
(HSG), Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM), Vinhomes Joint Stock Company
(VHM). The second part of the report evaluates the equally-weighted investing portfolio of those
five stocks based on several important financial statistics over three years from 2020 to 2022.
The result first demonstrates the fluctuation of the VNI index, providing an overview of the
annual average returns of the portfolio in each year. Secondly, it is important to take the total
and systematic risks into account by analyzing the standard deviation and beta of the portfolio.
Finally, the report will recommend the optimal distribution between the stocks in the portfolio to
minimize the risk as much as possible (using Solver Application on Excel)

A. Introduction
1. Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Stock Index (VNI)
1.1 Introduction
The Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, or VN-Index, is the primary stock market index of the Ho
Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in Vietnam. It was introduced in July 2000 and has become a
benchmark for the Vietnamese stock market. The VN-Index has an initial base value of 100
points, with the base day being the first day of market operation on July 28, 2000. The index is
calculated in real-time and quoted in Vietnamese Dong. Investors utilize the VNI to monitor
investor sentiment and the Vietnamese economy. Economic conditions, government policies,
global market trends, and individual company performance influence the index's performance.
The VNI is an important tool for investors and those interested in the performance of the
Vietnamese economy.

1.2 Financial performance

Vietnam's stock market has experienced severe fluctuations in recent years due to various
factors, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign investments, and government policies. In 2020,
the stock market dropped to its lowest level in years due to Covid-19 but resurged at end of the

4
year, with a nearly 15% increase in the VN-Index (thanhnien.vn., 2020). In 2021, the market
continued to experience volatility but ultimately ended the year 35.7% higher. However, in 2022,
the market suffered significant losses, with VN-Index ending the year down 32.78%
(thanhnien.vn, 2022). As of March 22, 2023, the market has improved slightly, with VN-Index at
1040.54 points (VnEconomy, 2023) and trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE)
increasing by 3.89% to VND 8.65 trillion ($367.77 million) (Nguyen, 2023). Despite the
volatility, the market has shown resilience, and investors will continue to monitor it closely.
(Source:
Yahoo
Finance -
Stock
Market
Live,
Quotes,
Business
& Finance
News)

2. Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company (HPG)

2.1 Business line:
❖ Hoa Phat is a leading industrial production group in Vietnam. Starting from a company
trading construction machines in August 1992, Hoa Phat expanded into other fields
including furniture, steel pipes, construction steel, refrigeration, real estate, and
agriculture respectively.
2.2 Brief history:
❖ Hoa Phat Group was established in 1992 with the name Hoa Phat Equipment & Parts Co.,
Ltd. - The first company bearing the Hoa Phat brand.
❖ In January 2007, Hoa Phat was restructured according to the corporate model.
❖ In August 2007, Hoa Phat Hai Duong Steel Joint Stock Company was established, and
deployed the Complex of iron and steel production in Kinh Mon, Hai Duong

5
 ❖ On November 15, 2007, Hoa Phat Group listed shares with code HPG on the Vietnam
stock market. Since then, Hoa Phat Group has continuously developed and established a
series of large and small subsidiaries in many provinces and cities across the country.
2.3 Ownership structure
Major shareholders of Hoa Phat
Group include Mr. Tran Dinh
Long, who owns 26.08% of the
shares. Domestic investors own
50.92%, and foreign investors
own the remaining 23%. There is
a slight change from 2020, 2021,
and 2022 in that domestic
investors tend to own more shares
of the corporation year by year.
2.4 Financial performance

Units 31/12/2020 31/12/2021 31/12/2022

Total Revenue Billion VND 90,119 149,680 141,409

Net Income Billion VND 13,45 34,48 8,48

Total Assets Billion VND 131,511 178,236 170,336

Operating Billion VND 11,587 26,721 12,278

Cash Flows

Return on % 10.3 19.4 5

Assets

Return on % 23 38 8.8
Equity

Debt-to-Equity % 91.43 63.02 60.31

(Source: https://www.investing.com/, https://data.vdsc.com.vn)

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 The table above summarizes HPG's financial position over the past three years. HPG's
OCF in the past three years has been quite positive despite the increase and decrease, but it still
shows the ability to reinvest and expand business activities, the company does not need to sell
more shares or borrow money for business activities. Over three years, HPG's net income
increased sharply in 2021 and decreased slightly in 2022. HPG's ROE and ROA are fluctuating,
indicating that HPG's ability to generate returns on investments and assets has been uneven and
stable over the years. This is explained by Hoa Phat that the above business result is due to weak
steel demand in both the country and the world, the price of raw materials, especially coal, is
three times higher than the normal time, credit tightened, exchange rate and interest rate
increased sharply.

3. Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PLX) (THẢO)

3.1 Business line: Petro trading enterprise, petroleum, and gas, transportation services.

❖ PLX’s main operation is extracting, and trading petroleum. Currently, Petrolimex is

Vietnam’s leading group in downstream operations, and with more than 120 petrol
distributors, they are a giant petrol trading enterprise in Viet Nam.
❖ PLX also provides other services, most notably transportation as it plays an indispensable
role in their operation, and offers a variety of other products: liquified petroleum gas and
petrochemical products.

3.2 Brief history

❖ Petrolimex has always been the front-runner in the industry since they are founded, and
set up by Decree 09/BTN of 12 January 1956 by the Minister of Commerce. Since then,
they have played an important role in stabilizing and developing the Viet Nam oil market,
while meeting the nation’s demands, and defense security.
❖ In December 2015, Petrolimex (via its subsidiary Petrolimex Nepal) delivered its first
batch of aviation fuel (39,800 liters).
❖ In May 2016, Nippon Oil officially became a 9.09% stockholder of Petrolimex,[8] thus
reducing the state ownership below 75%.

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 ❖ In 2016, in the wake of Brexit, Petrolimex planned to sell PJICO to a foreign fund and to
merge its real estate activity into its construction subsidiary. It also finalized the merger
of the PGBank with Vietinbank.
❖ After many years of growth and success despite a few setbacks, PLX was introduced to
the HOSE exchange on April 21, 2017.

3.3 Ownership structure

Looking at the chart, it is fairly easy to

understand why 79% of the shares were
owned by domestic institutions as the
Minister of Commerce set this up. 17% of
the total shares are possessed by foreign
institutions and the remaining are owned
by individuals in Vietnam, making it a total of 83% of the shares owned domestically.
3.4 Financial performance
(Source: https://www.investing.com/, https://data.vdsc.com.vn)

Units 31/12/2020 31/12/2021 31/12/2022

Total Revenue Billion VND 123,918 169,008 304,063

Net Income Billion VND 1,252 3,123 1,902

Total Assets Billion VND 61,106 64,791 74,475

Operating Cash Billion VND 6,501 2,998 5,516

Flows

Return on Assets % 1.61 4.51 2.08

Return on Equity % 5.01 11.93 6.79

Debt-to-Equity % 66.4 54.39 51.88

Ratio

8
 By looking at the total revenue PLX accumulated over the past 3 years, we can say that
the company is growing rapidly in 2022, with total revenue almost doubling the last year.
However, the net income of 2022 is significantly lower than 2021, meaning that the company has
experienced high costs, possibly due to covid-19, and other restrictions. PLX always maintains a
high portion of assets, which increases every year, and ensures that they have enough cash flow
to maintain operation. We can also see that PLX’s RoA and RoE fluctuated between 2021, and
2022, which showed that the pandemic had a major impact on the company, making it more
expensive for the company to operate. One reason could be the lack of international trading
between other countries due to Covid-19 in the past years, which decreased their potential
revenue, but the cost was increasing.
4. Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company (HSG)

4.1 Business line:

❖ Manufacture of cold rolled steel, roofing sheet and galvanized, and aluminum-zinc alloy-
coated steel sheet and other coated metals and alloys.
❖ Manufacture of products from iron, iron oxide, iron carbon.
4.2 Brief history
❖ Hoa Sen Steel Sheet One Member Limited Liabilities Company (formerly Hoa Sen Steel
Sheet Joint Stock Company) was established on November 09, 2006, and operated in the
field of production and sales of cold-rolled steel products.
❖ Hoa Sen Steel Sheet One Member Limited Liabilities Company is the first subsidiary of
Hoa Sen Steel Sheet Joint Stock Company.

4.3 Ownership structure

Hoa Sen Group's ownership structure

includes Mr. Vu Phuoc Le, who is a major
shareholder, holding 17.09% of the share,
other Vietnamese investors holding 74.70%
and approximately 8% is owned by foreign
investors.

9
4.4 Financial performance

Units 01/10/2020 01/10/2021 30/09/2022

Total Revenue Billion VND 27,531 48,727 49,710

Net Income Billion VND 1,380 4,313 251

Total Assets Billion VND 17,756 26,618 17,025

Operating Billion VND 2,110 1,496 2,845

Cash Flows

Return on % 6.59 19.44 1.15

Assets

Return on % 19.13 49.52 2.31

Equity

Debt-to-Equity % 124.21 63.11 38.47

(Source: https://www.investing.com/, https://data.vdsc.com.vn )

According to the total revenue HSG has generated over the last three years, the company is
expanding quickly in 2021, with total revenue nearly one point five in the previous year.
However, because 2022's net income was much smaller than 2021's (251 and 4,313
respectively), the corporation must have incurred high costs, maybe as a result of COVID-19 and
other constraints. Additionally, the fact that HSG's RoA and RoE decreased significantly
between 2021 and 2022 indicates that the pandemic had a consequential influence on the
business and increased operating costs.

10
 5. Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM)

5.1 Business line:

❖ Dairy products include milk, cheese, and yogurt and it is said to account for about 50% of
Vietnam’s dairy market

5.2 Brief history:

❖ Vinamilk was established by CEO Mai Kieu Lien in 1976 to take over the operations of
three previously private dairy factories in South Vietnam.
❖ In 1995, Vinamilk officially inaugurated the first dairy factory in Hanoi.
❖ In 2006, Vinamilk opened the first dairy farm in Tuyen Quang and publicly went on the
HOSE (HoChiMinh Stock Exchange) with VNM as the stock ticker.
❖ In 2010, Vinamilk applied new technology and installed advanced equipment and modern
machines in all of its factories. Besides, Vinamilk also established Public Health
Nutrition Consultant Centers in the country and launched over 30 new products.
5.3 Ownership structure

Over time, we can see that the

major shareholder is the SCIC, a
state-owned holding company
considered a National Wealth
Fund of Vietnam, which owns
37% of the shares. The foreign
investors hold 55% of the shares
as the result of the company’s
policy to remove the limit on
foreign investment and the domestic investors hold only 8% of the total shares
5.4 Financial performance

Units 31/12/2020 31/12/2021 31/12/2022

Total Revenue Million VND 59,636,286.20 60,919,164.80 59,956,247.20

11
 Net Income Million VND 11,098,936.86 10,532,477.10 8,516,023.69

Total Assets Million VND 48,432,480.67 53,332,403.44 48,482,664.24

Operating Million VND 10,180,169.39 9,431,973.56 8,827,273.18

Cash Flows

Return on % 35.5 30.6 25

Assets

Return on % 24.1 20.9 16.8

Equity

Debt-to-Equity % 23.9 28.6 16.5

Ratio

(Source: https://www.investing.com/, https://data.vdsc.com.vn)

The table above summarizes how VNM has performed financially over the last three years. It is
clear that VNM's OCF and FCF are positive. This means that the company is producing solid
levels of cash flow, which may be utilized to facilitate expansion, pay dividends, or reduce debt.
However, the company's profitability is declining because the net income is decreasing. This can
be attributed to rising raw materials or labor costs and declining market demand. A decreasing
net income over time could be a cause for concern as it indicates that the company's financial
health is not good, which needs strong corrective actions to restore the optimal condition. It is
crucial to note that the lack of potentially dilutive instruments only sometimes implies that the
company's financial performance is robust, as there are other elements to examine when
assessing a company's financial health. A falling return on equity (ROE) and return on assets
(ROA) imply that VNM's ability to generate profits from its investments and assets is
deteriorating.

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6. Vinhomes Joint Stock Company (VHM)

5.1 Business line: Commercial Real-Estate

❖ Vinhomes is currently the leading real estate development and management
company in Viet Nam, prioritizing creating ideal living experiences in Vietnam’s
urban locations that are professionally planned.
5.2 Brief history
❖ Vinhomes is a real estate development company based in Vietnam. It was established in
2012 as a subsidiary of Vingroup, one of the largest conglomerates in the country.
Vinhomes focuses on developing and managing high-end residential and commercial
properties in urban areas across Vietnam.
❖ In 2016, Vinhomes became a publicly traded company on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock
Exchange. The following year, it launched the VinCity brand, which provides more
affordable housing options for the middle-class market.
❖ Since its establishment, Vinhomes has become one of the leading real estate developers
in Vietnam, with a portfolio of more than 50 projects nationwide. In 2020, it was listed as
one of Forbes Asia's Fab 50 Companies, which recognizes the best publicly traded
companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
5.3 Ownership structure
❖ The majority of VHM is owned by the company itself with 67% equity.
❖ Foreign investors showed interest in the company with 23% ownership, and the majority
are companies and firms.
❖ 10% of VHM is owned by domestic companies and individuals.

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 5.4 Financial performance

Units 31/12/2020 31/12/2021 31/12/2022

Total Revenue Billion VND 71,546 84,985 62,392

Net Income Billion VND 27,351 38,824 28,628

Total Assets Billion VND 215,326 230,516 361,813

Operating Cash Billion VND 4,146 589 1,844

Flows

Return on % 13.26 17.42 9.73

Assets

Return on % 35.56 35.21 20.6

Equity

Debt-to-Equity % 28 15.16 24.38

Ratio

(Source: https://www.investing.com/, https://data.vdsc.com.vn)

Based on its previous financial performance, Vinhomes has demonstrated strong growth and
profitability, however, in 2022, Vinhomes reported total revenue of VND 62,3 billion, which
showed a big decrease in demand due to Covid-19, and global inflation. Nonetheless, Vinhomes'
growth is primarily driven by the strong demand for high-end and affordable housing in

14
Vietnam, as well as its expansion into new markets and product lines as the company has a
diversified portfolio of properties, including apartments, villas, and commercial spaces, which
helps to mitigate risks and capture opportunities in different segments of the real estate market.
In terms of financial ratios, Vinhomes has maintained a healthy level of profitability, with a
return on equity (ROE) of around 35% in 2020, and 2021, but down to 20% in 2022. Moreover,
its ROA suggests that the company ensures that they are making money when buying more
assets despite economic instabilities. Its debt-to-equity ratio has also remained relatively low,
indicating a conservative approach to financing its operations. Overall, Vinhomes' financial
performance reflects its strong position in the Vietnamese real estate market and its ability to
deliver value to its shareholders.

B. Result and Discussion

1. Investment weight from year to year
Assuming the investor has VND 1 billion in the budget, this person decided to invest equally in
the aforementioned stocks in 2020. Hence, each stock will have 200 million VND money
invested. Based on the detailed information provided in Appendix A, the below table represents
the total number of shares per stock the investors could buy:

Stock HPG VNM VHM PLX HSG

Number of shares 18214 2089 3540 3096 33846

As can be inferred from the data sorted in Appendix A, the price of shares for each stock has
varied over the examined period, which resulted in the change of portfolio weight and the value
of shares. Since the stock prices of HPG and HSG have increased dramatically in the next years
2021 and 2022, the weight of these stocks accordingly accounted for a major part of the
investment portfolio, at 27.68% and 45.43% in 2022, respectively. In contrast, VHM, VNM, and
PLX have experienced slow growth or even regression compared to the standard of VNIndex in
the researched period, which resulted in lower weight in the portfolio. (Appendix E)

15
 2. Annual Average Return
2.1 The Market

The annual average return of the VN Index is around -39.73 percent in the year 2022, indicating
that it is a bad time for long-term investment. Compared with the other years, we can see that the
year 2021 had the best annual average return of 30.55 percent, an excellent rate for investors at
the time. Meanwhile, the year 2020 also had a good rate of return of 13.75 percent, an ideal
percentage for investors who would not want to risk their funds and also want to have safe
returns annually. In summary, 2020 and 2021 were good years to invest for the long term as the
high return rate was high. However, we should not invest in 2022 as the annual average return
was negative, causing the investors to lose their money. (Appendix D)
2.2 Comparison between companies

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At the beginning of the year 2020, all companies had positive returns except for PLX, which had
a negative rate of return. Among the other 4 companies, it was clear that HSG had the highest
percentage, with over 100 percent, a really impressive number to achieve but it started to decline
over time. Following this trend was HPG with about a 75 percent return rate, which is good
statistically speaking but it also decreased over time. Meanwhile, both VNM and VHM only had
around less than a 10 percent return rate in 2020. Moving on to 2021, there had been a drastic
change in the statistics. First, we can see this was the time before all stocks except for VNM,
which was going to rise, began to drop even further. At the time, HSG declined to around 60
percent and showed that it would continue to drop. The same situation also occurred to the other
three stocks but VNM had made a comeback, increasing steadily over the period. Lastly, we will
see the data for 2022 when every stock except VNM had dwindled to a negative percentage and
showed no sign of stopping. At the same time, VNM continued to increase at the start of 2022. In
summary, the future for HPG, PLX, VHM, and HSG is looking grim as they have dropped over -
50 percent, while we can hope for VNM to keep increasing to generate profit. (Appendix C)
2.3 Group’s portfolio

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After doing some calculations, our group has come up with the chart above to indicate our
portfolio’s annual return, and we can see at January 2020, our’s rate is higher than the market
rate, nearly reached the 40% milestone but was showing a sign of steady decrease, opposed to
the market rate which was increasing at the time. At the beginning of 2021, our portfolio
decreased nearly equal to the market return rate, about 30 percent but our’s still had a better
percentage. But at the time of January 2022, things had changed as our return rate had dropped
significantly down to nearly -80 percent, which was bad for the portfolio at the time. We can
speculate the negative return rate can be caused by the inflation phenomenon, the companies
were not having a great time financially or turmoil within the sector. In this case, we think it is
because the cost to operate increased which can lead to the cost exceeding the income,
decreasing the return rate and other aspects.

3. Total risk (Variance and Standard deviation)

3.1 Companies

According to the bar chart, HSG remains in the highest position among the five stocks. The data
reveals a susceptibility to market swings and a potential risk for investors. Additionally, the
company has an ROE much lower than the average of the industry in 2022 (2.31% and 8.02%

18
respectively). These factors make Hoa Sen become a risky investment option. Another element
that investors should consider is that due to the steel industry’s particularity, in the 2021-2022
fiscal year, the firm faced the largest after-tax loss with more than 886 billion VND, leading to
an increase in standard deviation when compared with VN- Index.
In comparison, Vinamilk has maintained a relatively low standard deviation of under 1.50% in
2020 and has not exceeded 2.00% for the next two years, which is least different from VN-Index.
With more than ten G.A.P dairy farms, the company has successfully enhanced the firm's
credibility. Although COVID-19 has jeopardized the whole economy, Vinamilk stills remains a
high number in revenues. All these elements make Vinamilk a safe and promising investment
choice when compared to other stocks. Stockholders seeking a sustainable investment should
consider Vinamilk due to its consistent growth and low standard deviation. However, conducting
thorough research and analysis is crucial before making any investment decisions. Investors
should consider a wide range of criteria, including industry trends, financial performance as well
as risk management strategies, to make informed investment decisions that align with their
financial objectives and risk tolerance.
In conclusion, Hoa Sen Group should take the necessary measures to manage and mitigate the
risk associated with its high standard deviation. The company should consider implementing risk
management strategies and diversifying its portfolio to minimize potential losses. Meanwhile,
Vinamilk’s growth and low volatility make it a safe option for investors seeking sustainability.
3.2 Group’s portfolio

19
The low correlation of the portfolio lowers its total risk since the returns of the individual stocks
are more likely to move in the same direction, decreasing the portfolio’s volatility. Furthermore,
based on the Daily Standard Deviation of the portfolio bar chart, it has a standard deviation of
approximately 2.00% (2022), further decreasing its overall risk. However, the portfolio is
diversified, as are the five companies from different industries. This diversification means that
the portfolio’s overall risk may increase due to the particularity of each field
4. Systematic risk (Beta coefficient)
4.1 Beta of each company

As seen on the beta analysis bar chart, HSG has the highest beta and continuously rises
throughout the year. In 2020, the beta coefficient was 1.34. An insignificant increase was seen in
the following year and touched the peak in 2022 with a beta of 1.62 when the economic system
took less impact from the covid-19 than the years before. Compared to the market beta, the
organization with beta coefficients higher than 1.0 have tended to be more volatile than the
market. Although this company might take a high risk, the expected return is great. In contrast to
(HSG), Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM) is the company whose beta is
low (0.67) resulting in low risk and also a low expected rate of return. This case means that this
company is less volatile than the market. Despite the low rate of return, unlike the HSG, VNM

20
provides a safer and more stable choice for investors to put their money in. In conclusion, the
lower risk profile of VNM with its low beta coefficient might be a good option for investors who
are looking for a safe and stable investment opportunity.
To sum up, the lower the beta coefficient, the lower the return, the companies including
VNM and PLX are the ideal choices for the low risk-investors. On the other hand, the investors
that are willing to take more risk and expect higher returns will find it interesting to invest in
groups like HSG and maybe HPG as well.

4.2 Group’s Portfolio

In 2020, stock price movements are relatively erratic relative to market prices, with a beta
of 1.11. The following year, the beta increased slightly again to 1.16, indicating slightly more
erratic but not significant volatility. In 2022, a large volatility of stock prices relative to market
prices was recorded when the beta increased significantly to 1.33. After the last three years, the
beta coefficient tends to increase from near 1. to quite far.

5. Risk Optimal Portfolio

After analyzing the data by Excel Solver, the three pie charts below will be the outcomes for the
optimal weight measurements in different years, starting from 2020. From an overall perspective,

21
as a way to minimize the portfolio’s standard deviation, VNM was allocated the highest weight
in 3 years, followed by PLX and VHM. Meanwhile, the stock of HSG and HPG only occupied a
minor weight of the investment portfolio over the period.

It is clear from the data that VNM would always account for the majority of the investment
portfolio during 3 years, at 42%, 64%, and 54%, respectively. The stocks of PLX and VHM also
show similar trends, though to a lesser extent. Specifically, PLX would make up for a significant
weight of the portfolio, at 17%, 24%, and 14% respectively over three years. The according
figures for VHM are 25%, 4%, and 28%. The rationale behind this is that these companies
generally have lower total risks compared to the other companies mentioned in the investment
portfolio. By distributing the weight of each stock according to the chart, the investors can
minimize the risk of losing money, thus justifying the primary objective of reducing overall risks
and making a safer decision.
Meanwhile, HPG and HSG would not be suitable investment decisions if the investor prioritizes
risk rather than profit. The standard deviation of HPG and HSG was usually 1% - 2% higher than
the others, reaching the peak at 4.11% in 2022. Therefore, it is understandable why the weight
distribution for HPG and HSG stocks would be insignificant in the investment portfolio.
It is important to note that the aforementioned distribution is optimal for risk minimization, not
the optimal distribution overall for profit. As can be inferred from the data, the stock of HSG and
HPG is the most profitable stocks whose values have increased significantly compared to the
buying price in 2020, while those of VNM and PLX tended to decrease slightly over time
(Appendix E). The basic principle of investment is the higher the risk, the better the profit.
Therefore, although registering a slight loss over 3 years, PLX and VNM are still suitable

22
investment choices for a risk-optimal portfolio. The chart below compares the Standard
Deviation between the initial weight distribution of the investment portfolio with the optimal
ones, which clearly represents a significant decrease in risk, up to 50% in 2022.

23
References

Công cụ đầu tư - Toàn diện nền kinh tế, mọi góc độ doanh nghiệp. (n.d.). Data.vdsc.com.vn.
https://data.vdsc.com.vn
Hoa Sen Holdings Group plans to sell all HSG shares. (2022, June 22). VietNam News.
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shares.html
Hoa Sen Holdings Group plans to sell all HSG shares. (n.d.). Vietnamnews.vn.
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shares.html
Investing.com. (2022). Investing.com - Stock Market Quotes & Financial News. Investing.com.
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HPG Annual Report. (2023, April 3). Untitled. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from
https://file.hoaphat.com.vn/hoaphat-com-vn/2023/04/annual-report-2022-hpg.pdf
Hoa Phat Group. (n.d.). Hoa Phat Group. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from
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yahoo!finance. (n.d.). Avnet Inc (VNI.SG) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo
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Appendix

Please find out this Excel Sheet for further information: Sort-data-Cf.xlsx
● Appendix A

The changes of the stock price in the period of 3 years.

● Appendix B

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 ● Appendix C

Comparison among each company stock

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● Appendix D

● Appendix E

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