Viet Nam Report Company (VNR) on Tuesday announced the top 10 most prestigious listed companies for 2017.

The company said the top 10 enterprises had good business results and image management.

Its survey of the top prestigious listed companies showed that Viet Nam’s stock market this year saw strong growth of the VN Index -- from 665 to 926 points.

The capitalisation value was equal to 65 per cent of Viet Nam’s gross domestic product in 2017, increased from 35 per cent in 2016. The liquidity was also double that of last year, while foreign investors were active in net buying with total indirect investment rising by 47 per cent from the beginning of this year.

VNR added that the shares that are being traded on the market have improved both in quantity and quality. By the end of October, the total number of listed and registered for trading firms was 1,374, posting 30 per cent year-on-year increase. Many listed companies completed their set targets for the whole years within the first 9-10 months of the year.

The company’s survey revealed that most enterprises were confident about their operation in the first three quarters of the year as 72 per cent of surveyed firms expected their revenue and profit would become higher.

More than 40 per cent of surveyed listed companies reported price hike as of December 13, 2017, such as Hoa Binh Construction Group Joint Stock Company (HBC), Refrigeration Electricial Engineering Corporation (REE), Vingroup Joint Stock Company (VIC) and Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ).

VNR said the IPO and capital divestment of large businesses in the time ahead would also contribute to the growth of the stock market. The divestment from leading firms with large stocks such as Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM), Vinaconex (VCG) and FPT attracted many big foreign investment funds.

Its statistics showed that in the first 11 months of the year, foreign net buying was US$1.77 billion, six times higher than the same period last year. The market capitalisation of foreign investors’ portfolio was estimated at $32.5 billion, increasing by 59 per cent from last year.

This is clear evidence on the attractiveness of the local stock market in 2018, it added.

As many as 45 per cent of surveyed firms highly valued finance and banking stocks due to their high profitability in the market in 2017. The stocks are expected to be the most worthwhile investment in 2018, followed by real estate and consumer goods.

The report also revealed that a company’s development has the main impact on price movement. Stock investors have therefore conducted deeper studies and assessments on quality of traded shares.

In term of media coverage, the companies have been among the popular names in the country.

VNR selected and analysed listed companies with high capitalisation value based on three criteria -- financial capacity as shown in financial reports, prestige in the media and evaluation by specialists on growth potential of stock prices and their effects on the VN Index. — VNS