Vietnam steps up efforts to build more transparent stock market

Speaking at a working session with the State Securities Commission on May 26, Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan acknowledged the achievements made by the securities sector in recent years.

Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan delivers remarks at the working session

“Vietnam’s stock market has achieved five outstanding results, creating an important foundation for the next stage of development. The most significant milestone is the upgrade of Vietnam’s stock market to Secondary Emerging Market status under FTSE Russell standards,” Minister Tuan said.

According to the minister, this achievement reflects the combined impact of a series of synchronised measures, ranging from improvements in the legal framework and administrative reforms to enhanced governance quality and greater market transparency.

The second notable achievement was the substantial progress in market inspection, supervision and oversight, which has played a crucial role in ensuring transparent and safe market operations while strengthening investor confidence.

Third, the securities sector has gradually diversified market products and structures. In addition to traditional products, several new products are being researched and developed, including derivatives products, carbon trading platforms and digital assets.

Fourth, digital transformation and modernisation of IT infrastructure have been strongly accelerated, particularly with the stable operation of the KRX technology system since May 2025. This serves as an important foundation for the stock market to continue expanding in scale, introducing new products and bolstering management and supervisory efficiency.

Fifth, international integration activities have expanded.

“The securities sector has not only effectively utilised bilateral cooperation mechanisms, but has also made good use of technical assistance from international organisations to enhance regulatory capacity and improve market quality, gradually moving closer to international standards,” said Minister Tuan.

Minister Tuan has instructed the securities sector to continue streamlining administrative procedures to make them faster and more flexible, thereby facilitating corporate issuance and capital mobilisation activities while still ensuring effective management and strict market risk control.

He also emphasised the need to continue upgrading IT infrastructure to meet new market development requirements.

“With the goal of achieving double-digit growth in the coming period, demand for resources to finance development investment will be enormous. Therefore, the stock market must further strengthen its role as a key medium- and long-term capital channel for the economy,” Minister Tuan said.

On this basis, the minister instructed the entire sector to focus on implementing key tasks in the period ahead.

“The securities sector must continue maintaining the results of the market upgrade and strive towards higher standards. In addition to preserving the criteria already achieved, it is necessary to further improve market quality to meet higher FTSE and MSCI standards in the future,” he said.

At the same time, the minister called for stronger market supervision associated with digital transformation and IT application.

“Alongside investor education efforts, the securities sector must also strengthen effective measures to develop institutional investors, especially securities investment funds, to create a more stable foundation for the market,” the minister said.

In addition, during the meeting, the minister instructed the securities sector to continue improving human resource quality and establish appropriate mechanisms to attract talent.

“In the context of intensifying competition and increasingly demanding management requirements, the securities sector needs to build a workforce with sufficient capacity and qualifications to meet new development demands,” he said.

Vietnam's stock market capitalisation has now reached approximately $432 billion, equivalent to 84.4 per cent of Vietnam’s 2025 GDP, surpassing the size of the Philippine market and gradually approaching major ASEAN markets such as Thailand and Malaysia.

Stock market liquidity has remained high, with average trading value reaching approximately $1.16 billion per session, ranking among the leading markets in ASEAN.

The derivatives market also recorded positive developments, with average trading volume reaching nearly 244,000 contracts per session, up 15.6 per cent from the previous year.

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