Delegates attending the conference "Investment funds and foreign investment in Việt Nam's new development era" in HCM City on March 28. — Photo doanhnghiepkinhtexanh.vn

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Finance held a conference in HCM City on March 28 to discuss, share experiences and propose solutions to promote capital mobilisation through the investment fund system and the foreign investment sector.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Finance Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng emphasised that after nearly 40 years of renovation, Việt Nam has achieved many great achievements in socio-economic development with a consistent policy of promoting socialisation, diversifying resources for development investment, and effectively attracting both domestic and international capital sources.

2024 marked a successful year for the economy and capital markets with total mobilised capital of nearly VNĐ930 trillion, 30 per cent more than the previous year, equivalent to 25 per cent of total social investment capital.

Along with the growth of indirect investment capital, total foreign direct investment in 2024 reached US$25.4 billion, an increased of 9.4 per cent over the previous year, reaching the highest level ever.

These results contributed positively to GDP growth of 7.09 per cent, bringing the size of Việt Nam's economy to $476.3 billion, ranking 33rd in the world.

However, Nguyễn Văn Thắng also pointed out the fact that despite achieving positive results, the economy still faces many challenges.

Specifically, in the field of securities investment funds, the total net asset value of funds accounts for only 1.2 per cent of market capitalisation, while the total value of assets managed by fund management companies is only equivalent to 3.4 per cent of the total assets of credit institutions.

Notably, although the number of investors in the stock market has increased, foreign investors' trading accounts still account for a very low proportion, only 0.5 per cent.

"The operation of the securities investment fund system is not commensurate with its development potential. Regarding FDI activities, there are still obstacles in implementation related to land, construction, customs taxes, administrative procedures and foreign exchange," the Minister emphasised.

Minister of Finance Nguyễn Văn Thắng speaking at the conference. Photo thanhtra.com.vn

At the conference, delegates focused on assessing the current situation, sharing experiences and proposing solutions to attract resources for economic development through investment funds and foreign investment.

The multi-dimensional consultations and contributions of the delegates clarified the bottlenecks and proposed solutions to attract investment, such as policy solutions to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic capital market and improve the investment and business environment.

Sharing on the sidelines of the conference, Don Lam, General Director and Founding Shareholder of VinaCapital Group, said that currently, investment funds in Việt Nam are developing strongly, contributing significantly to capital mobilisation and promoting economic growth.

However, the Vietnamese stock market is still mainly dominated by small individual investors, accounting for 90 per cent of the total number of investors.

Most of this group participates in the market by buying and selling shares themselves, instead of investing in professional funds.

This situation makes the market unstable, easily affected by crowd psychology and does not ensure a long-term investment orientation.

To improve the sustainability of the financial market, it is necessary to change the awareness and behaviour of individual investors, and encourage them to participate in professional investment funds.

Investing in funds reduces risk, takes advantage of the expertise of fund managers, and provides higher long-term returns than short-term trading based on emotions.

One of the solutions is to strengthen education and communication about the benefits of investing in professional funds.

Investment funds need to provide transparent and clear information about the effectiveness of funds as well as the benefits that investors can receive.

In addition, the State and management agencies need to consider policies and support mechanisms to promote the development of investment funds, including creating favourable conditions for funds to expand their scale and diversify investment products such as investment funds in infrastructure or private enterprises.

This not only helps attract more investors but also contributes to mobilising long-term capital for the economy.

Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission (SSC) Vũ Thị Chân Phương said that to achieve a double-digit GDP growth target in the coming time, Việt Nam needs to mobilise and effectively use financial resources, both domestic and foreign.

In that context, the capital market, especially the stock market, must assume the role of the main channel for mobilising medium- and long-term capital.

At the same time, investment funds also need to be promoted to develop more strongly.

The development of investment funds not only helps attract long-term capital but also contributes to building a stable and sustainable investor system.

In addition, expanding the scale of investment funds not only increases the attractiveness of the stock market to international investors but also creates an important driving force to help the stock market develop stably, thereby supporting economic growth and realising the Government's strategic goals.

To achieve these goals, the SSC is implementing many important solutions, including disseminating knowledge to individual investors, diversifying types of investment funds and stock indexes, developing commodities on the stock market, and increasing the investment limits of funds.

In addition, SSC also recommends relevant agencies should diversify distribution channels to help investors access them more easily, especially individual investors.

At the same time, SSC proposes appropriate tax policies to encourage individual investors to participate in investing through investment funds, thereby creating a solid foundation for the long-term development of Việt Nam's capital market. — VNS