Investors hold on to cash, avoid investments in gold and land Though gold prices remain unchanged and land and securities have become more valuable, the rich still prefer to keep their cash.   The VN Index unexpectedly rose sharply on March 4, for the first time in the last three months surpassing the 600 point threshold. Analysts said there was a stronger cash flow in the stock market with trading value of VND2.7 trillion on both Hanoi and HCM City bourses. The stock index, after the recent plunge to the 510 point threshold, has bounced back amid the shareholders’ meeting season. The Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI), in its latest about Vietnam’s economy, said it believes the stock market would bounce back in 2015 as the national economy is getting better. Turnover and profit of 67 companies put under the company’s regular watch will increase by 11.68 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, in 2015. The real estate market has warmed up after it was stimulated by a series of new policies. Analysts noted that it is now the right time for investors to eye middle-class apartments priced at over VND1 billion, because the goods are cheap to buy, while prices are predicted to escalate in the time to come. In Hanoi alone, 10 apartment projects, including FLC, Vinaconex 2, VID Group, Hai Phat and Van Phu Invest are to be marketed. However, despite the supply, the price is still on the rise. The gold market has been bustling this year. Vietnamese like hoarding gold instead of cash, and will buy taels of gold when they have idle money. However, most buyers at the moment are those buying gold to put into their coffers as savings. Meanwhile, investors are not making transactions now because there still exists a big gap between domestic and world prices, about VND4-4.5 million per tael. The world price has been unstable, fluctuating depending on the US economic recovery and the health of some key economies, including the EU. There are signs of the dollar appreciation in the black market. Analysts believe that the dollar price increase will be clearer in some days and in line with the rise of the greenback price in the world market. The dollar price quoted by commercial banks on March 6 nearly hit the VND21,400 per dollar threshold. The slight price fluctuations have worried investors. However, a securities analyst in Hanoi noted that the signs are not clear enough for investors to make decisions. “Most of them keep cash or deposit at banks at low interest rates, because they still don’t know where to put money now,” he said. US$1 = VND21,000 Manh Ha, VNN