Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung prepares to ring the gong welcoming the first transaction day of the local stock market. — Photo thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — While foreign investment flows fell 12 per cent to 20 per cent stock markets in the region last year, the Vietnamese market reached a capitalisation ratio of 57 per cent of GDP and remained an attraction to foreign investors, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said.

Dung, who attended the first trading day of 2016 with other high ranking officials at the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) yesterday, said the local stock market has attracted VND290 trillion (US$12.9 billion) or 28 per cent of total investment in 2015.

Vu Bang, chairman of the State Securities Commission, said that 2016 will be a better year than 2015 with GDP growth estimated at 6.7 per cent, export growth at 10 per cent and the inflation rate at below 5 per cent.

Bang thought more integration with the ASEAN economic community would give the local market a big chance to develop, however, there were challenges from integration, adding that the commission would do more to modernize the local stock markets with better products and services.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Vu Quang Trung, deputy general director of HNX, one of the two bourses in Viet Nam, said they saw capital flows, listed firms and UPCoM transaction soared in 2015.

Trung said that the Government bond market, developed since 2009 under the organisation of HNX, was considered the fastest growing G-bond market in Southeast Asia, with an annual growth rate of 26.5 per cent.

Minister Dung appreciated HNX's effort and awarded it with the Labor First Order for the outstanding achievements and contribution to the development of the stock and bond markets and the country's economy during the last 10 years.

Dung also told the exchange to work harder for the amendments of securities law, to boost the State-owned companies restructuring processes in Viet Nam and to develop the stock market to a higher level.— VNS