A securities trading floor. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s stock market outperformed a number of developed global markets in terms of foreign investment last year, according to Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung.
Overseas investment in the market rose by 6.1 percent, while Indonesia and Thailand saw drops of approximately 15 percent, followed by India and Malaysia (5 percent), the UK (2.3 percent), the US (2.23 percent) and Australia (2.1 percent).
The capitalization of the country’s stock market totalled 58.8 billion USD, equal to 34.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an increase of 17 percent from 2014.
Vietnam attracted 299 trillion VND (13.3 billion USD) in capital through the market.
The securities market stayed stable in 2015, but remained vulnerable to fluctuations on the global market, especially foreign currencies, Dung stated.
He outlined several measures the Ministry of Finance will undertake this year to direct the market towards sustainable development and stability.
The Government issued Decree 60/2015/ND-CP last June to expand foreign ownership ratios in an attempt to entice more indirect investment from overseas.
Dung said his ministry will continue to support foreign investors by offering streamlined procedures and online registration services.
It also aims to diversify capital flows by luring more investment and voluntary pension funds.
The ministry will accelerate the stock market’s restructuring and tighten inspections to enhance transparency, effectiveness and stability. Businesses will also be supported to make the most of free trade agreements (FTAs) and tackle the challenges these FTAs pose, he added.
Minister Dung noted that while Vietnam completed 96 percent of its plan on State-owned enterprises (SOEs) restructuring for 2011-2015 last year, the number of shares sold by many SOEs was much lower than targeted.
He suggested that promotion conferences could be organised overseas to provide more detailed information on IPOs and Vietnam’s policies for foreign investors and funds.-VNA
