HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s stock market capitalisation increased 13 per cent against the end of last year, reaching nearly VNĐ3.97 quadrillion (US$169.5 billion) by the end of August.

This value was equivalent to 79.2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Ministry of Finance.

Stock indices on the two national stock exchanges increased in August after treading water in July.

The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rose by nearly 4 per cent, ending August 31 at 989.54 points. However, it decreased slightly by 0.6 per cent compared to December 31, 2017.

On the Hà Nội Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index grew by 5.6 per cent to end the month at 112.79 points. The northern market index fell over 6 per cent against last year.

“Although the VN-Index recovered well in August, we notice that capital flows did not increase significantly but mainly rotated among different sectors. Therefore, if there is no sudden increase in capital flows, it will be difficult for the market to move higher,” said Bernard Lapointe, head of research at Viet Dragon Securities, in the company’s investment strategy for September.

Meanwhile, Lapointe said foreign flows will likely be limited following the trend of moving out of frontier and emerging markets. Besides, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will likely raise interest rates by the end of September, which is not supportive for equities.

Việt Nam’s Ministry of Finance earlier this month requested authorities including the State Securities Commission to complete the draft revised Law on Securities, as well we guiding documents to implement Decree No. 60/2015/NĐ-CP, which amends and supplements some articles of the securities law.

The ministry also directed relevant authorities to finalise the scheme on restructuring the securities and insurance markets in the 2017-20 period. — VNS