HÀ NỘI — Finance minister Đinh Tiến Dũng rang the bell at the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) to start a new year for the northern equity market yesterday.

“We can count on the further development of the Vietnamese economy and improvement of the equity market in both size and quality this year,” Dũng said.

The Vietnamese equity market will continue to be an important channel for the Government, State-owned and private firms to raise capital for development, he said.

In 2018, capital raised from government bond issuance hit VNĐ129 trillion. Capital raised from share and bond issuance of State and non-State firms was VNĐ62.2 trillion (US$2.72 billion), up 30.7 per cent year on year.

Việt Nam also beat other ASEAN markets to top the region by initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2018 with total proceeds of $2.6 billion.

The finance ministry will ask for the Government’s support and work with other agencies and ministries to improve the legal framework, focusing on the completion of the amended securities law, according to the minister.

The efforts are expected to create the best environment for firms to improve information disclosure, corporate governance and help protect investors’ profits and benefits. At the same time, the securities market will be restructured to improve the competency and quality of brokerage units.

In addition, the Vietnam Stock Exchange will be established to make the equity market more professional based on the merger of the Hồ Chí Minh and Hà Nội stock exchanges. Other efforts include the launch of new derivative products and government bond futures contracts on the Hà Nội bourse and the deployment of covered warrants on the southern bourse.

The finance ministry will propose solutions to the Government to resolve problems for firms and protect the interests of shareholders and investors. The ministry will also ask the State Securities Commission and its agencies to improve policies and mechanisms to make trading more professional and transparent.

In 2018, international tensions and the US Fed’s four rate hikes dampened investor confidence in almost every global market, including Việt Nam.

The benchmark VN Index lost 9.31 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017’s end level. But market liquidity and capitalisation improved. Market value was up 10.6 per cent year on year to nearly VNĐ3.9 quadrillion ($170.86 billion), equal to 70.2 per cent of the country’s total gross domestic product in 2018.

Average trading value of bonds reached VNĐ6.5 trillion in each session, up 29 per cent year on year. Bond market value was nearly VNĐ1.12 quadrillion, up 10.5 per cent year on year and equal to 20.3 per cent of 2018 GDP.

With fourth-quarter earnings reports not out yet, in the first nine months, listed companies recorded revenues up 20.5 per cent and profits up by 24.9 per cent year on year. Notably, securities firms posted an annual 40 per cent increase in their profits. — VNS