Vietnam suspends stock trading for a third day

HANOI, May 28 (Reuters) - Vietnam's stock exchange .VNI will suspend trading for a third consecutive day on Thursday following a computer system problem, officials said on Wednesday.

"It is almost certain that Ho Chi Minh Exchange will resume trading operation the day after tomorrow," said Vo Van Quang, head of administration at the state securities regulator.

Trading has been halted since Tuesday but the over-the-counter Hanoi Securities Trading Centre .HASTCI has operated normally.

The nearly 8-year-old market, which jumped 23 percent last year amid investor excitement about Vietnam's economic potential, but has since slumped 55 percent to be the worst performer in Asia so far in 2008, has occasionally been hit in the past by technological problems. (Reporting Nguyen Nhat Lam; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Anshuman Daga)