The local stock market's upgrade from the frontier to emerging status by 2025 remains critical to the country’s transformation into a high-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income country by 2045.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to perform the task of developing the stock market in the year ahead, with the event jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance and the Government Office on February 28 in Hanoi.

Tens of billions of VND of capital are in investors’ accounts. Reports show that the total deposit balance at securities companies had reached VND83 trillion as of the end of 2023, or $3.3 billion.

The stock market in Việt Nam has begun an upward trend since mid-December 2023 and has experienced almost no interruptions so far, gaining over 130 points, approximately 12 per cent.

The Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX) reported revenue of over 1.92 trillion VND (78.26 million USD) in 2023, down nearly 44% compared to the previous year.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) began its first trading session following the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival with a gong-beating ceremony on February 19, the 10th day of the lunar year.

Cash in investors’ accounts is expected to be disbursed once the stock market heats up, analysts say.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed the Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to address obstacles in relevant sectors for upgrading the stock market from frontier to emerging status.

Though their outstanding loans have reached a 2-year high, securities companies have reported profit falls, while market liquidity is declining.

Securities companies have optimistic forecasts about the Vietnamese stock market in 2024 and believe that the VN-Index will return close to its historical peak.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on February 11 signed Directive No 04/CT-TTg which focuses on strengthening the implementation of the initiative to develop data applications related to population, identification, and electronic authentication

On HoSE, foreign investors net bought a value of VNĐ186 billion in January 2024, equivalent to 64.7 million shares.

Tet holiday is about to begin, but securities investors are busy collecting shares which now have reasonable prices.

To achieve the goal of upgrading the stock market as early as 2025, the Ministry of Finance in 2024 must undertake various tasks in coordination with other ministries and sectors for implementation.

The market performance last week indicated strong differentiation with short-term capital flows showing positive rotation within each group and stock.

The scenario in which the US Federal Reserve lowers interest rates will also stimulate cash flow from the currency market back into international capital markets.

If the stock market is upgraded to emerging status, the potential influx of foreign capital could range between $5 and $8 billion.

Ups and downs in the stock market were seen in 2023, but recovery was still the general trend. Better opportunities are expected to come this year.

Listed companies’ earnings growth is expected to recover from zero last year to 10-15% this year, but with a wide variation between sectors, according to Michael Kokalari, a chartered financial analyst and chief economist at VinaCapital.

Many noteworthy events occurred in the local stock market throughout the year.