20 Years As Bedrock of Bourse
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Stock market 20 years as bedrock of bourse 02/Feb/2017 Intellasia | VIR As one of the first developers of the Vietnamese stock market 20 years ago, State Securities Commission chair Vu Bang has seen plenty of ups and downs in the market. He talked about his experiences with VIR's Huu Hoe as the 2017 lunar New Year approaches. When the market overheats or encounters unexpected problems, has the State Securities Commission (SSC) considered suspending trading to protect investors? The option of suspending trade has been considered in the past, especially when the market grew too hot during the 2007-2008 period and market sentiment was tense. I was under immense pressure at that time, as a single second could make a drastic difference to investors, and the listed companies' market values. This is a common pressure for everyone working in the securities market. The most significant lesson we learned after these troubled times is that regulators must remain cool- headed in order to keep overheated situations calm. I'd like to give you a recent example: SSC proposed solutions to deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue for how to control the Vietnamese market during Brexit [the UK's referendum to leave the European Union]. We received praise from the deputy prime minister as the proposal was detailed, timely, and practical, showing SSC's experience in protecting the market from external turmoil. Around the world, there are two kinds of trading suspension: temporary or long-term. Indonesia and Thailand have closed their markets for some years before re-opening, and we're proud to say that throughout its 20 years of development, the Vietnamese stock market has never been suspended. Trading continues with ever-increasing levels of security to this day. Do you have any regrets or unfinished tasks in your two decades of working at SSC? First, I have to say that to develop a sustainable market, we need a united effort from multiple industries. Cooperation on monetary policy is especially important. The stock market has improved greatly thanks to improved cooperation between Vietnam's monetary and fiscal policies. Over the years, SSC has tirelessly formulated solutions to improve transparency, information disclosure, and fairness in the Vietnamese market. However, our control remains limited, especially as SSC does not have any investigatory rights like other lawmakers. For example, we cannot access investors' bank accounts or emails, and cannot arrest any suspects. This has hindered our response to many scams, especially price manipulation and insider trading. We also cannot sign multilateral agreements with other countries due to the lack of investigatory powers. Moreover, Vietnam's punishments for white-collar crimes are not harsh enough to deter financial criminals. In other markets, fines can reach millions of US dollars for each case. Lastly, other countries have specific rules to protect lawmakers in the stock market. Vietnam does not have this yet, so many SSC officers have been blackmailed or harassed by criminals. What are some of the most difficult decisions that you've made during your tenure as SSC chair? The most challenging decisions for me have been criminal cases, which I need to transfer to the relevant authorities to prosecute in court. It's hard but necessary to protect the market, improve transparency, and earn investors' trust. In addition, we have to reduce the trading margin when mass selling occurs and market value falls. SSC receives a lot of criticism about this, so that also counts as a very difficult decision for us. That's a lot of pressure for you and SSC. What do you see as pleasurable about your work? Nothing can describe my happiness when seeing the market grow day by day and receiving positive feedback from investors. I'm also happy when I see that investors have reaped their well-deserved rewards from an increasingly transparent market. As the Lunar New Year draws closer, what message do you have for investors and the market? Often investors understand that some businesses are not transparent, and they will still buy stocks regardless, for speculative purposes. These investors tend to think they will be okay and all risks will be passed down to later buyers. However, reality has shown that this is not always the case, and many investors have lost money because of this attitude toward trading. Even if these investors win, this is not a fair victory. I mention this to remind investors that, to lower risks, they should pour capital into fundamentally good companies with great corporate governance. Investors should not be blinded by quick profits and speculation. When there is turmoil in the market, investors ought to remain calm to avoid losing money. http://english.vov.vn/trade/20-years-as-bedrock-of-bourse-342591.vov Vietnam likely to launch bond derivative market in Q1 02/Feb/2017 Intellasia | Bizhub Vietnam will likely launch its bond derivatives market in the first quarter of this year. This is part of the four-year roadmap for the domestic bond market prepared by the Ministry of Finance and projected to be submitted to the prime minister this year. The development of the derivatives market is part of the government's strategy to support the country's stock market by providing more instruments to hedge risks and attract more investment. According to the announcement by the Hanoi Stock Exchange in June 2016, the derivatives market will initially start with stock index and government bond (G-bond) futures. The local G-bond market witnessed positive performance last year with total amount raised through the Hanoi Stock Exchange hitting a record VND316.73 trillion (US$14 billion), a rise of 26.9 per cent compared to the previous year, the northern exchange reported in the bond market review last week. G-bonds outstanding have reached 26 per cent of the country's GDP as of December 31, 2016. The participation of foreign investors increased in both transaction value and investor structure. They accounted for 12.4 per cent of total buyers, up 8.4 per cent over the previous year, while their transaction value rose 88 per cent year-on-year. The total listing value of G-bonds reached VND930.53 trillion, up 23.5 per cent over 2015. The average maturity extended to 5.21 years in 2016. Transactions on the secondary markets also improved with total value rising 73.8 per cent over the previous year, averaging VND6.35 trillion per session. The Ministry of Finance has set the mobilisation target of VND250 trillion worth of G-bond issuance in 2017. The 2017-20 development roadmap The finance ministry plans to submit the 2017-20 roadmap for the local bond market to the prime minister this year. Following which, it will enhance co-ordination between fiscal and monetary measures to better regulate the financial market. In the primary market, a pilot project of issuing floating rate G-bonds will be implemented from the second quarter of 2017. The ministry will continue to issue notes with long terms of 20 years and 30 years. In the secondary market, the bond derivatives market will be launched in the first quarter and settlement function will be transferred to the central bank. In a move to develop the corporate bond market, a database for corporate bonds will be built to improve transparency in the market. The State Treasury has announced it will diversify maturity of its G-bonds this year by between below one year to 30 years, focusing on the long term to extend the average maturity and reduce the pressure on the government's debt payment in the short term. Five-year to 10-year bonds will account for 60 per cent of total issuance while 1-3 year terms and 15-year terms onwards will each make up 20 per cent of total issuance. http://bizhub.vn/markets/vietnam-likely-to-launch-bond-derivative-market-in-q1_283848.html Stocks expected to rise in the year of the Rooster 02/Feb/2017 Intellasia | Bizhub Vietnamese shares are expected to increase on both local exchanges in the first trading session of the new lunar year on February2, approaching a fresh nine-year high, according to securities firms. The benchmark VN Index climbed 0.9 per cent to reach a new nine-year high of 697.28 points on January 25, extending its rally of a total of 2.2 per cent to a fourth day. The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange also rose 0.9 per cent the same day to finish at 84.46 points, lifting its gain of a total of 1.7 per cent for a second day. In the three trading days before the Tet holiday, market trading liquidity declined compared with the previous trading week. Some 117 million shares were on average exchanged in the three sessions, posting a weekly decline of 3.2 per cent. Average trading value in the three trading days was VND2.21 trillion (US$98.45 million), 11 per cent lower than the previous week's figure. Sai Gon-Hanoi Securities Co (SHS) said in a note the stock market was expected to make gains in the first two sessions of the new lunar year, with low market trading liquidity. The VN Index is heading to test the level of 700 points and the risk of correction is increasing. In that case, the nearest support level for the benchmark could be 689 points, SHS said. Investors with a taste of mid-term and long-term investment can look for opportunities to buy shares of companies that are expected to perform well in 2017, the Hanoi-based brokerage firm noted.