Addressingthe ceremony, Ninh expressed his hope that the stock market will seehigher growth this year, contributing to stabilising the macro economy,curbing inflation and ensuring social security.
During the first trading session in the lunar new year, both Hanoi andHo Chi Minh City bourses saw slight increases. Closing the morningsession, the northern bourse’s HNX-Index stood at 66.57 points, up 0.36point or 0.54 percent, while the VN-Index of the HCM Stock Exchangeincreased 2.67 points to 496.7 points.
Earlier thisyear, the State Securities Commission has put forth solutions to removedifficulties for businesses and the stock market, and attract foreigninvestment.
Last year, despite the global economicdownturn, the local stock market was among those with high growth ratesin the world. By the end of 2012, the VN-Index stood at 413.73 points,an increase of 17.7 percent over the level one year ago, and theHNX-Index ended at 57.09 points.
The market’scapitalisation reached 765 trillion VND (36.4 billion USD), 226 trillionVND higher than that of 2011 and equivalent to 26 percent of thecountry’s GDP.
Foreign indirect investment totalled300 million USD in 2012, compared to 240 million the previous year. Inaddition, foreign investors also poured more than 1.5 billion USD inM&A transactions.-VNA