Derivatives market coming in May or June

Viet Nam’s derivatives market will start operating in May or June in hopes it will improve Viet Nam’s securities market and attract more foreign investment, according to the Chairman of the State Securities Commission, Vu Bang.— VNS Photo

Bang said at a meeting yesterday in Ha Noi that the legal framework for the derivatives market has been completed. For example, the finance ministry loosened the regulation on investors’ margin deposit accounts, and an amended circular on the matter could be issued this month.

Bang added that the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) and the Viet Nam Securities Depository (VSD) had completed developing regulations on the listing, trading, settlement and membership, and those regulations could also go into effect this month.

The trading and settlement systems have been tested and they are now stable and ready for market operation, Bang said, adding that there are 16 brokerage companies ready for the derivatives market, but only half of them are licensed to participate in the market.

Covered warrants are another product expected to become available in September 2017, allowing holders to buy or sell a specific amount of equities, currency or other financial instruments, usually from or to a bank or a similar financial institution, at a specific price and time.

The legal framework for this product has been developed, Bang said. HNX and VSD are developing instructions and criteria to monitor the trading system and the establishment of the covered warrant market.

Exchanges’ merger

Bang said that the SSC had submitted a proposal on the merger of the two local exchanges to the Government and ministries for comments. “It is likely the two local bourses will be merged and a parent company will be founded to manage the two subsidiaries, which are the HCM and Ha Noi stock exchanges,” Bang said.

Merging the two would raise the status of Viet Nam’s securities market from the frontier level to the emerging level, he said.

Other tasks ahead include raising foreign ownership in listed companies, simplifying administrative procedures for foreign investors, and disclosing business information in English.

Regarding the English information disclosure, Bang said that the SSC would apply the requirement to large-cap firms first because it was difficult to apply it to all listed companies, especially small firms.

According to the SSC, at the end of February 2017, 708 companies and fund certificates were listed on the two local exchanges, and 485 stocks were traded on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) with total listing value of nearly VND778 trillion (US$34.57 billion), an increase of 7 per cent from the end of 2016.

The securities market’s capitalisation reached more than VND2.26 trillion (50.3 per cent of Viet Nam’s gross domestic product) – the highest since 2000 and an increase of 16 per cent from 2016’s year-end figure.

Market trading liquidity also improved, with a daily average trading value of VND7.36 trillion, an increase of 6.6 per cent from last year’s average. — VNS