PetroVietnam Gas Corp. (GAS), Vietnam’s biggest company by market value, climbed to a record on speculation its first-quarter earnings will beat estimates.

The stock gained as much as 5.8 percent to 55,000 dong, the highest since listing on May 22, and was at 53,500 dong at the afternoon trading break in Hanoi. More than 2.2 million PetroVietnam Gas shares changed hands, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also the highest since the stock began trading and compares with a three-month daily average of 316,313.

“Market talk is that the company will announce higher- than-expected first-quarter earnings results,” said Michel Tosto, director of institutional sales and brokerage at Ho Chi Minh City-based Viet Capital Securities.

Cao Khanh Hung, head of the financial department at Ho Chi Minh City-based PetroVietnam Gas, declined to comment on market speculation and said first-quarter results will be announced before the company’s annual general meeting scheduled for the middle of April.

Shares of PetroVietnam Gas, which is a unit of Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, have rallied 39 percent this year, outpacing the 18 percent advance in the benchmark VN Index.
 

Bloomberg.news