Vietnam espouses market upgrades to entice sustained capital investment
Vietnam is taking a significant step towards attracting international investors by upgrading its stock market from a frontier to an emerging market status, with the aim of completion by September 2025. This upgrade involves aligning market infrastructure and regulations with global standards, enhancing transparency, improving liquidity, easing foreign ownership restrictions, and adopting advanced trading technologies like the Korea Exchange’s KRX system.
The State Securities Commission (SSC) is leading the charge, working closely with the State Bank of Vietnam in developing Circular No.03/2025/TT-NHNN. This circular, effective since June, is another crucial step in the process. It simplifies procedures and facilitates foreign indirect investment activities in the Vietnamese stock market.
The SSC has also established an advisory dialogue group on capital market development to accelerate the upgrade process. This group consists of 33 members, divided into three working groups focused on market and post-trade development.
The number of investor accounts has increased dramatically over the years, affirming growing public participation in the financial market. In 2000, there were just 3,000 accounts, a figure that has now soared to over 10 million. This growth is a testament to the strong momentum the Vietnamese stock market is currently showing, with rising liquidity, a record number of investor accounts, and an improving index performance.
To boost market efficiency, transparency, and investor confidence, key developments include reforms such as new securities regulations, streamlined foreign investor access (including easier local-currency account opening), and infrastructure improvements like the KRX trading platform and plans for a central counterparty (CCP) in 2026.
The bond market is also growing rapidly, enhancing the overall capital market ecosystem. The combination of robust domestic participation and improved access for foreign investors is expected to sustain this growth trajectory.
The upgrading of Vietnam's stock market could open the door to large-scale, stable, and long-term international investment. Recognition as an emerging market by global index providers like FTSE Russell (which is set to announce results in September 2025) would further bolster Vietnam’s image, raise market standards, and attract diverse foreign investors, fostering deeper integration into the global financial system.
Listed companies are now regularly publishing disclosures in English, a move aimed at attracting foreign institutional investors. The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) launched a new platform to mark the 25th anniversary of the Vietnamese stock market on July 28.
The MoF and the SSC have been reviewing and proposing amendments to legal documents to address obstacles and meet international criteria for the market upgrade. For instance, the MoF issued Circular No.68/2024/TT-BTC and Circular No.18/2025/TT-BTC to address two criteria Vietnam did not meet in a FTSE Russell assessment, specifically the delivery versus payment settlement cycle and settlement and costs related to failed trades.
The new circulars have proven effective in handling non-pre-funded orders by foreign institutional investors safely and efficiently. The bond market in Vietnam has a total value of VND2.503 quadrillion ($100 billion), equivalent to 21.7 per cent of 2024 GDP.
Bui Hoang Hai, vice chairman of the State Securities Commission (SSC), affirmed Vietnam's determination to upgrade the stock market. The SSC is actively implementing measures to facilitate the participation of foreign institutional investors in Vietnam's stock market. Vietnam's stock market liquidity is the highest trading volume in the region, exceeding even markets with 70 to 100 years of development.
In summary, Vietnam’s stock market upgrade involves technological, regulatory, and structural reforms aimed at meeting emerging market criteria, which in turn will attract significant international investment and support the country’s broader economic growth ambitions.
- In line with the efforts to attract more foreign investors and enhance the transparency of the Vietnamese stock market, the State Securities Commission (SSC) has established an advisory dialogue group on capital market development, focusing on market and post-trade development.
- The upgrading of Vietnam's stock market, aiming to attract diverse foreign investors and foster deeper integration into the global financial system, has resulted in listed companies regularly publishing disclosures in English, to appeal to foreign institutional investors.
