Obama’s visit expected to give push to stock market Two official state visits by two US Presidents in the past both gave the Vietnamese stock market a boost. Will history be repeated with the third visit by U.S. President Barack Obama?   Vietnam has twice received US Presidents to the country since its first stock trading session was held at the HCMC Stock Exchange on July 28. Bill Clinton was the first US President who paid an official visit to Vietnam, 25 years after the war ended. By that time, the Vietnamese stock market had been operating for several months, and the only stock exchange was located in HCMC. One month after Clinton’s visit, the VN Index increased by 17.7 percent from 162.36 points to 191.11 points. The inconsiderable increase was understandable: the stock market had just begun several months before and still could not attract many investors. The second visit by an US President, however, helped to heat up the stock market. On November, 20, 2006, George W. Bush, the President, visited the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and met senior executives of Vietnamese enterprises. The US President personally beat the gong to open a new trading session. One month before Bush’s visit, the VN Index increased by 11.4 percent from 524.59 points to 584.26 points. After the visit, the index soared by 38.6 percent, from 584.26 points to 809.86 points. And within one month, the VN Index repeatedly made new gains. On March 12, 2007, the VN Index reached a peak of 1,170.67 points. Similarly, the HNX Index of the Hanoi Stock Exchange also witnessed an impressive increase of 31.2 percent within one month after the visit, from 197.17 points to 258.78 points. The index reached its peak of 459.36 points on March 19, 2007. Vietnamese securities investors have every reason to hope that President Obama’s visit to Vietnam on May 23-25 will once again help the stock index. In the last month, the VN Index increased by 6.2 percent, while HNX Index increased by 1.9 percent. Nguyen DuyLinh, deputy director of the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI) told the press on May 12 on the occasion of the opening of an SSI transaction office, that the visit shows the good relationship between the US and Vietnam. The visit would have a positive impact on Vietnam’s trade, budget and the national economy. Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham QuangVinh, in an interview given to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) will further deepen the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership. After 20 years of normalized relations, the US has become the 2nd largest trade partner of Vietnam. Vietnam’s position in trade relations with the US rose from 26th in 2014 to 19th now.   Nguoi Dong Hanh