Board Lots and Odd Lots in Vietnamese Stocks
A board lot is a multiple of 100 shares; an odd lot is the part below 100. We explain the lot rules on HOSE/HNX, why odd lots are hard to sell, and how to handle leftover shares.
Why can you not easily buy exactly 150 shares?
When placing an order on a Vietnamese exchange, you will see rules about the trading lot — the minimum share quantity for a normal order. Understanding board lots and odd lots helps you avoid rejected orders or being stuck with hard-to-sell odd-lot shares.
Board lots and odd lots
- Board lot: a quantity that is a multiple of 100 shares (100, 200, 1,000, and so on). This is the standard trading unit on HOSE.
- Odd lot: a quantity below 100 shares, or the leftover that does not round to 100 (for example 150 shares = one board lot of 100 + 50 odd).
A normal in-session order requires a board lot. You cannot place a normal order for exactly 150 shares — the 50 odd shares must be handled separately.
Where odd lots come from
You usually get odd lots from:
- Stock dividends / bonus shares: the ratio produces a non-round-100 number.
- Stock splits with an odd ratio.
- Leftover buying/selling of a portion below 100.
Why odd lots are "annoying"
- Harder to match: odd-lot trades usually go through a separate channel with lower liquidity, sometimes at a worse price than board lots.
- Small capital "stuck": a few dozen odd shares sitting in your account that you cannot easily sell — a small form of "dead asset."
This is why, when investing, many people try to trade in board lots to avoid generating odd lots.
How to handle odd-lot shares
- Sell odd lots through a separate channel: many brokers support odd-lot trading (usually with price and timing conditions).
- Buy more to round up: add shares to turn an odd lot into a board lot, then trade normally.
- Broker buyback: some brokers have programs to buy back odd-lot shares.
Relation to DCA and accumulation
When you dollar-cost average (DCA) Vietnamese stocks by a fixed amount, the number of shares bought each period is usually not a round 100 — generating odd lots is normal. Some automated tools handle this by splitting the board-lot portion (normal order) and the odd-lot portion (separate trade), so you do not have to manage it manually.
Conclusion
A board lot is a multiple of 100 shares — the standard trading unit; an odd lot is the part below 100, usually from stock dividends, splits, or leftover trades. Odd lots are harder to match and less liquid. Prefer trading in board lots and handle odd lots through a separate channel when needed.
Next step
Accumulate Vietnamese stocks by a fixed amount, with board-lot/odd-lot splitting handled for you.
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