Decree allowing higher foreign stakes in Vietnam’s firms approved

The Prime Minister has ratified Decree 60/2015 to replace Decree 58, which included a long-awaited regulation on removing limits on foreign ownership in listed companies.
The Prime Minister has ratified Decree 60/2015 to replace Decree 58,which included a long-awaited regulation on removing limits on foreignownership in listed companies.

The new decree will not only havehuge, positive impacts on the development of the securities market butalso accelerate the privatisation process that the Government isdetermined to hasten drastically and efficiently, Finance Minister DinhTien Dung said at the ministry's meeting to revise results in the firsthalf of the year and plan for the second half on June 26.

"WhenDecree 60 takes effect and foreign stakes are lifted, a significantamount of foreign capital is expected to flow in and boost markets," headded.

The current regulation capped foreign stakes in public companies at 49 percent.

Underthe new decree, foreign stakes can be lifted up to 100 percent for mostsectors, and firms will also be allowed to propose their own limits.However, the limit on foreign stakes at banks will be retained at theexisting level of 30 percent.

The details of the regulation willbe disclosed soon. SSC's Chairman Vu Bang noted that detailedinstructions for the implementation of the new decree will be issuedsoon.

Both benchmark indices closed down yesterday aftersell-offs in the afternoon trading as investors were still awaiting moredetails of the new decree.

According to the BIDV Securities'statistics, dozens of listed companies in national bourses currently ranout of "room" for foreign investors, including major names such asVinamilk, FPT Group, and REE Corporation.

Stock analysts see thelifting of limits on foreign stakes as a significant impetus for thestock market this year, predicting an inflow of foreign capital worthbillions of dollars, together with increasing mergers and acquisitionsdeals.

At the recent Vietnam Business Forum, Nguyen Kien, arepresentative of the capital market working group, said the scale ofVietnam's stock market remained modest in comparison with the markets ofother countries in the region. Vietnam's market capitalisation wasequivalent to 25 percent of GDP, while the rates were 65 percent in thePhilippines and 112 percent in Thailand.

Experts remarked thatthe modest scale of the stock market would make it hard to support theprivatisation process, adding that opening more doors for foreigncapitals would be a solution.-VNA

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