A consultant advises a customer at a securities company in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: TTD
In the context of the market thirsting for quality goods, FDI enterprises with good financial potential, management and brand... will be a potential source of supply.
There is no shortage of FDI enterprises wanting to participate in the stock market.
Previously, the Vietnamese stock market had 11 enterprises, but some withdrew due to ineffective operations, notably Full Power (FPC) completely delisted.
Decree 38/2003 paved the way for FDI enterprises to list on the stock exchange, helping the 2003-2008 period become a peak with 10 enterprises converting from LLCs to joint stock companies for listing. However, since 2017, when Siam Brothers Vietnam (SBV) joined HoSE, there have been no new FDI enterprises listed.
According to Ms. Ha Vo Bich Van - financial advisor at Hub Dong Hanh, FIDT Investment Consulting and Asset Management Joint Stock Company, Vietnam currently does not have a specific legal framework allowing FDI enterprises to list on the stock market.
Previous documents such as Decree 38/2003 and Decision 238/2005 have expired, while the Investment Law 2020 and Securities Law 2019 do not have clear successor regulations. This lack of legal guidance has caused many FDI enterprises, despite their need to raise capital and build their brands in Vietnam, to still not find a "door" to go public.
Through offering consulting services to customers, the director of a large securities company in Vietnam said that the demand for listing of FDI enterprises is not small, however, promoting it requires many solutions, including legal factors.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre , a representative of the Vietnamese Government also said that Vietnam has not yet implemented the approval procedures for FDI enterprises to list on the Stock Exchange. The company is currently waiting for the Government to review the procedures and processes to allow FDI enterprises to list on the Stock Exchange.
"The group is also ready. If there are clear regulations and procedures, the company will be ready to implement," a representative of CP Vietnam revealed.
To pave the way for listed FDI enterprises
Mr. Thomas Nguyen, director of foreign markets at SSI Securities, said that promoting FDI enterprises to list on the Vietnamese stock exchange is an important factor in developing the capital market. According to him, the management agency has now paid more attention to listing approval, demonstrating the clear direction of the State in encouraging enterprises, including FDI enterprises, to participate in the stock market.
Vietnam currently has many FDI enterprises with very good quality. This is a potential source of goods that can supplement the stock market, helping to diversify products and create greater attraction for investors.
However, for these businesses to choose Vietnam as a listing destination, there are two prerequisites. First, the domestic market must offer a sufficiently attractive and competitive valuation compared to other markets they may consider. Second, the listing procedure needs to be simplified and made easier.
Mr. Thomas compared it to the US market, where procedures are complicated, costs are high and subject to strict supervision, and said that Vietnam should aim to build a more flexible and friendly mechanism to encourage FDI enterprises to list on the stock exchange.
Besides valuation and procedural factors, he also noted that many global corporations want to list for other reasons, such as wanting their legal entity in the home country to be listed in that market to serve their ownership structure or long-term development strategy.
This shows that the listing decision of FDI enterprises is not only linked to direct financial benefits, but also depends on many other strategic and management factors.
CP Vietnam Corporation of Thailand has made a move to IPO (initial public offering) and list in Vietnam - Photo: QUANG DINH
Still have to control the risk
Mr. Nguyen Son, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC), emphasized the need to increase the supply of quality goods in the current stock market with many solutions, but there are reasons specific to Vietnam as well as impacts from the world that cause the amount of goods to "disappear".
The current capitalization of Vietnam's stock market is still small and especially the quality and scale of goods have not changed much in the past 2-3 years. "It is impossible to maintain the current quantity of goods. Encouraging FDI enterprises to convert and list on the Vietnamese stock exchange will create equality," said Mr. Son.
Previously, there were more than 10 FDI enterprises listed on the stock exchange, some of which did not perform well, but many of which performed very well.
"However, the process of promoting FDI enterprises to go public has slowed down in the past decade and needs to be resolved. FDI enterprises when converting to joint stock companies operate completely under the Vietnamese Enterprise Law," said Mr. Son.
However, this issue also poses many risks that need to be managed. There are even concerns that FDI enterprises are listed on the stock exchange only to "divest capital" after listing or that the enterprises do not do business seriously, leading to risks for investors and the market.
In addition, transfer pricing, falsified asset values, non-transparent financial reporting, and even business leaders fleeing are also issues that need to be tightly controlled.
Ms. Ha Vo Bich Van, FIDT expert, emphasized the need to build a strict legal corridor to control risks and protect investors.
Accordingly, it is necessary to develop specific criteria for FDI enterprises such as: the minimum operating time in Vietnam can be from 2 - 3 years, the scale of revenue growth, profit, application of existing technology transfer. Adjust the charter capital compared to normal regulations if necessary.
"At the same time, allow the application of a mechanism to restrict transactions of foreign founding shareholders (lock-up) for several years (for example 3 - 5 years) to avoid massive divestment," Ms. Van suggested.
According to Ms. Van, to get FDI enterprises listed on the stock exchange, we are not just talking about amending the law or lowering the conditions. We can start with a listing sandbox (pilot), combined with tools to reduce legal risks, while establishing a specialized IPO support center and applying the shortened IFRS standard to save on compliance costs.
If accompanied by temporary tax incentives for successful listed enterprises, Vietnam can completely welcome a wave of quality FDI enterprises entering the stock market without having to wait too long.
In addition, it is necessary to require independent auditing, strict valuation, ensuring that the listed stock price reflects the real value. Establish a mechanism to closely monitor business, transparent financial reporting, enhance the capacity of the technical monitoring system, early warning, and connection with national business and population data. When more FDI enterprises are successfully listed, it will bring the stock market in particular and Vietnam in general closer to the role of an international financial center.
More opportunities for investors
Regarding positive impacts, most opinions say that it is difficult to deny that having more FDI enterprises listed on the stock exchange will make the Vietnamese stock market more diverse in terms of "goods", open up to domestic and foreign investors, and increase capitalization and liquidity.
Ms. Ha Vo Bich Van predicted that the market upgrade, if completed in the coming period, could open up a new wave of FDI enterprises listed on the stock exchange, especially from large companies in the US, Japan, Korea, etc. The policy of loosening foreign ownership room, especially in the banking group (Decree 69/2025), applied to MB, HDBank , VPBank, etc., is a step towards opening the market to foreign capital in general, and is a positive signal for the possibility of FDI enterprises listing.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thieu-quy-dinh-van-cho-lan-song-doanh-nghiep-fdi-niem-yet-tai-viet-nam-20250823231946256.htm
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