New stock trading system should be launched in Vietnam soon: deputy minister

A trading system developed by the Korea Exchange (KRX) should be put into operation in Vietnam soon to ensure synchronous transactions, said Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi on Tuesday.

At a gong ceremony to open the first trading session of the year, Chi emphasized the need to ensure systems for transactions, payments, deposits and clearance operate safely and smoothly.

He held that 2023 was a challenging year for the Vietnamese economy when GDP grew just over 5%. Despite being lower than the target, this rate was still among the highest in the world, Chi noted.

Desite multiple challenges, the VN-Index, which represents the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), still closed in 2023 at 1,129.93 points, up over 12% from the end of 2022.

Trading value reached more than VND17.5 trillion ($719.13 million) per session. Market capitalization hit nearly VND6,000 trillion ($246.56 billion), an increase of more than 9% compared to the previous year, equivalent to about 62% of GDP in 2022.

The number of new investor accounts rose by over 350,000, bringing the total number of accounts to more than 7.4 million, equivalent to 7.5% of the population, the deputy minister added.

“As the regional and world situation is forecast to continue to be complicated this year, financial and fiscal policies need to be flexible and cautious, and closely follow regional and global developments,” he noted.

“One of the key solutions to develop the stock market is to continue to improve mechanisms, amend legal regulations, and remove difficulties with a long-term vision towards sustainable market development,” Chi said, adding Vietnam needs to deploy the stock market development strategy until 2030 after it's approved by the Prime Minister.

In addition, it is necessary to develop new products, reform administrative procedures, and create the most favorable conditions for listed organizations to register for trading, he stated.

The State Securities Commission (SSC) should strengthen its role as a market regulator, proactively monitoring units, improving market supervision and goods quality, strictly handling violations, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors, thus restoring market confidence, he added.

“The SSC needs to proactively coordinate closely with ministries and agencies to implement relevant solutions towards upgrading Vietnam's stock market,” Chi stressed.

It is necessary to approach international standards, narrow the development gap between the Vietnamese and world stock markets, improve the quality of human resources, and ensure information is readily available to the market, he added.

At the event, SSC chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong said that in 2024, her agency will focus on perfecting policies and mechanisms, strengthening inspection and supervision, and strictly handling violations in the market towards upgrading of Vietnam’s market from ‘frontier’ to ‘emerging’.

The VN-Index rose slightly by 0.16% to 1,131.72 points on Tuesday, with trading value hitting VND17.111 trillion ($703.29 million).