Vietnam's main bourse sees few entrants as stock market upgrade desired

Just one new ticker has landed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) this year, experts say, a worrisome development given that Vietnam is pursuing a market status upgrade by FTSE Russell from “frontier” to “emerging”

Unfavorable listing conditions have resulted in a scarcity of new entrants to Vietnam’s main bourse, they say, noting that the number of new tickers and fund certificates listed on HoSE has significantly declined from 26 stock symbols and five fund certificates in 2020 to five tickers and four fund certificates in 2023.

The lone ticker to list on HoSE so far this year is MCM of Moc Chau Dairy Cattle Breeding JSC, which will officially go public on June 26 at a price of VND42,800 ($1.68) a share.

The HoSE has listing applications from 14 local companies in hand, including four submitted this year by DSC Securities Corporation, DNSE Securities JSC, Gelex Electric JSC, and Hoang Gia Production and Investment JSC.

The pending applications include several banks like VietBank, BVBank, SaigonBank, and ABBank. The banks’ executives have said the listing process has stalled because of unfavorable market conditions and cumbersome listing procedures.

To deal with the situation, Le Thi Le Hang, CEO of SSI Asset Management Company Limited (SSIAM), suggests that Vietnam scrap pre-funding requirements for foreign investors and devise measures for handling trade failures as required by FTSE Russell, one of two agencies that award stock market status upgrades.

Hang also recommends raising foreign ownership caps.

Vietnam accounts for 36% of the MSCI Frontier Market Index and contributes 20 constituents to foreign portfolios. In the event of an upgrade, the current foreign limit would cause the frontier share to increase but the number of constituents to slump to 10-11, Hang notes with concern.

The local stock market is too centralized and void of opportunities for investment, she asserts. Major funds’ investment portfolios overlap on five to 10 tickers due to the limited options available.

Hang also suggests Vietnam’s market watchdog accelerate the listing of major firms on local bourses.