Vietnam Brokerage Firms Have Total Capital of $1.57B So Far

As many as 105 securities companies operating in Vietnam now have a combined registered capital of more than VND30 trillion ($1.57 billion) so far, the Business Management Department under the State Securities Commission (SSC) said.

 

Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), traded on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, is the sole broker with a capital of VND3.5 trillion; five companies have capital of between VND1 trillion and VND2 trillion, comprising ACB Securities, Agriseco, Sacombank Securities, Kim Long Securities and SHB Securities.

 

Most of the remaining firms are small-sized, many of which had to sell up shares to foreign partners to increase their financial capacity and technology systems.

 

To date, some brokers have sold up to 49% stake to overseas institutions, such as Huong Viet Securities to Morgan Stanley, Click&Call to South Korea’s Golden Bridge, Au Lac Securities to Cayman’s Technology CX, Vietnam Securities Corp. to Malaysia's RHB Bank, and Empower Securities to Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS).

 

The 105 firms have opened 109 branches and 60 transaction offices in almost all big cities and provinces nationwide.

 

Although the number of securities firms has risen strongly over the past ten years, from initially seven in 2000, their operations remain unsustainable, the SSC said, noting that many have suffered big losses from securities trading due to weak risk management while many have been fined due to providing un-allowed services.

 

Raising capacity of these intermediary institutions is one of the SSC’s strategies to develop the local stock market in a sustainable manner. Vietnam’s equity market value is expected to reach 70% of GDP in the next 3-5 years. (Securities Investment)