Fifteenyears since its establishment, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE)now has over 300 listed companies have been listed on the HOSE with thetotal market capitalisation estimated at around 1,000 trillion VND (46.5billion USD), representing 25 percent of the GDP. In 2014, HOSEreported an average 2.1 trillion VND worth of transactions each day.On average, listed firms have doubled their chartered capital.
However, some businesses at the event agreed that there are stilllimitations in the Vietnamese stock market, which prevent it fromleveraging its roles in the economy to the fullest extent.
Theysaid that banks and financial institutes still play a key role inmobilising capital for the economy, while the role of the stock marketas a crucial source converging mid- and long-term funds for economicdevelopment is still neglected. In addition, the market has yet to carryout its role in connecting capital supply and demand as well asproviding various investment opportunities.
Nguyen Duy Hung,chairman of Saigon Securities Inc., said listed companies as well asbrokerages have to ensure the transparency of the information theydisclose and its accuracy to protect investors.
Nguyen ThanhLong, vice chairman of the State Securities Committee, said listed firmsneed to abide by international accounting and auditing criteria toprovide accurate information to investors.
Vietnamneeded more institutional investors since they do not speculate andinvest in value and are capable of guiding the market, he said.
Vu Viet Ngoan, chairman of the National Financial SupervisoryCommittee, said investor protection is one of the key factors in thehealthy growth of the market as are policies related to corporatebankruptcy, access to capital, and implementation of the law.
The seminar, organised by HOSE and Saigon Securities Inc., is amongprogrammes to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Vietnam's stock market,which began with the opening of the HCM Stock Exchange, formerly the HCMSecurities Trading Center, in July 2000.-VNA