Twenty companies listed on the country’s two stock exchanges received awards on August 26 for achieving high credit ratings.

The award competition was organised by the Credit Information Centre under the State Bank of Vietnam in coordination with the US credit information firm Dun & Bradstreet.

The award winners included HCM City-listed companies, Binh Dinh Mining (BMC), Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT), Vietnam Dairy Products Corp (VNM) and National Seed Company (NSC).

The other awardees, Hai Ha Confectionery Company (HHC), Tien Phong Plastics Company (TPC) and Nhi Hiep Brick and Tile Company (NHC), are listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

They were selected from 361 companies, including 166 listed on the southern board and 204 on the northern board.

Listed banks and investment fund’s certificates were not covered, according to the center’s general director Pham Cong Uan.

Companies selected had to have the highest credit rating of AAA for three successive years.

A company with an AAA rating has highly effective operations, long development prospects, strong financial capacity, a good debt payment history and very low risk.

Other criteria were high earnings per share, return on assets and return on equity.

According to the Credit Information Centre rating results, 113 out of 361 listed firms, or 31.3 percent, are rated as AAA.

The percentage is 36 percent of those listed at HoSE and 28 percent for the Hanoi exchange.

Up to 57.1 percent of the listed businesses in the rubber and paper areas have an AAA rating./.