Similar proposals in the past were never approved.

Seoul Metal Vietnam and Ngu Kim Fortress Vietnam planned listing at HOSE (HCM City Stock Exchange) in 2017 but their plans have not been realized. The enterprises have had to wait for legal documents from the State Securities Commission (SSC) and MOF.

The caution from state management agencies is the major reason why FIEs still cannot list shares.

Vietnam has been warned that the owners of listed FIEs may withdraw enterprises’ capital through the stock market.

Dau Tu Chung Khoan quoted the director of a securities company as saying that a high number of FIEs have demand for listing shares on the bourse.

“Many FIEs have asked us to give consultancy to list shares. But after considering the legal framework and conulting with management agencies, we have to say that the mission is impossible,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF), suggesting solutions to help the stock market overcome the Covid-19 crisis, has once again proposed allowing foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) to list on the bourse.

However, ministries have been warned that excessive caution may do more harm than good.

This may prompt FIEs to relocate their activities to markets which create favorable conditions for them to list shares, thus having more opportunities to seek capital through the stock market.

Ministries fear that FIEs will withdraw capital through stock market has not happened with EVE, TKU and TYA, the FIEs that listed shares 10-15 years ago under a pilot program. And they did not mobilize capital in the Vietnamese market and transfer abroad as some experts warned.

FIEs now hope that they can list shares on the bourse as MOF has instructed SSC to draft the document showing the procedures for listing.

It is expected that listed FIEs will face strict regulations on the restrictions on founders’ share transfer, on bonus shares and ESOP (employee stock ownership plan).

An official of SSC confirmed that the agency is compiling the document.

Meanwhile, the analysis director of a securities company said he was not worried about the possibility of listed FIEs withdrawing capital, which could cause uncertainties to the stock market. But he thinks the listing of FIEs will not have much significance.

The director believes that the FIEs which want to list shares are mostly small, and do not bring high value to shareholders and the stock market. If enterprises like Samsung listed shares, they would create great attention, but this is not likely to happen.

Linh Ha 

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical files for listing on HNX

The Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Corporation (BSR) has filed for listing on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the northern market regulator said on June 2.

FDI firms face difficulties in listing

There are currently only 10 FDI enterprises listed on local exchanges compared to the tens of thousands of FDI firms operating in Viet Nam.