Investors trace market swings (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s stock market is becomingmore attractive to many foreign investors, many insiders said at a recentworkshop in HCM City.
The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange(HOSE) has increased by almost 15 percent since the beginning of 2016.
Unpredictable changes were seen in the localstock market this year due to both domestic and foreign uncertain factors,including a record FDI inflow, the issue of foreign ownership limit extension,marine pollution caused by Formosa in central provinces, the controversial CaNa steel project, Sabeco’s listing in HOSE, and Donald Trump’s win in the USpresidential election.
Economist Tran Du Lich believed that Vietnam’sstock market will continue developing healthily in the future. If such issuesas economic restructuring, bad debt settlement, and debt market facilitationare handled soon, a driving force for the market will be created.
In its latest report released on December 5, theWorld Bank projects the country’s GDP growth rate at about 6 percent in 2016and 6.3 percent next year. Vietnam will remain a potential destination for manyforeign financial institutions and investors.
Vietnam’s stock market will gain a new “face” in2017 as many big enterprises are set to list their shares on local stockexchanges, Kim ThienQuang – CEO of Maybank Kim Eng Securities Joint StockCompany – said at the workshop on December 9.
The participation of industries and companiesthat haven’t yet been listed on stock exchanges will lure investors to thelocal stock market, he elaborated, taking the Saigon Beer, Alcohol andBeverages Corporation (Sabeco) as an example. The Vietnamese brewing giantlisted on HOSE last week and has seen its shares (SAB) continually hittingdaily limit since then.
Echoing this view, other insiders said theequitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) or companies with good andstable growth will bring about great opportunities for investors.
They forecast the SOE equitisation will becarried out more strongly and in better conditions in the next two years asthis process has been accelerated over the last months of 2016.
Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, a member of HOSE’s board ofdirectors, said the State Securities Commission and relevant agencies,including HOSE, are working hard to implement institutional reforms and alignlegal framework with international standards so as to develop the stock market.Businesses themselves should also make efforts to improve their operations andcorporate governance effectiveness.-VNA
VNA
