New regulations to aid securities market

Hanoi (VNA) - The local securities market is expected to further expand in the last months of the year after two trading regulations are put into practice in November.

On November 1, Circular No 115/2016/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance on guidance for the initial sale of shares, and the management and use of proceeds from the equitisation of 100 percent State-owned enterprises transforming into joint stock companies takes effect.

The circular, which will replace Circular No 196/2011/TT-BTC issued in 2011, stipulates share auctions on the stock exchanges will be automatically traded on the Unlisted Public Companies Market (UPCoM) within 20 days of the auction date.

This regulation is forecast to be a “big bang” for the equitisation process of State-owned enterprises as listing on an exchange will now be an obligation rather than being dependent on the willingness of the companies involved.

The new circular specifies that the stock exchange that hosts the auction must send notice of the average sale price and information of winning bidders to the Vietnam Securities Depository Centre (VSD) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) within five days from the payment due date (the auction date).

Within 10 days from the due date of the sale, the equitised enterprise must report to the State Securities Commission (SSC) and make public the auction results. The SSC will send confirmation of the auction results to the equitised enterprise, HNX and VSD within the next three days.

Within seven working days from receipt of the notification of the SSC, HNX will put the shares up for trading on the UPCoM. The reference price for the first trading day is the average sales price in the auction.

For derivative products, the Hanoi exchange is completing a regulatory system, including transaction process, member regulation and related working procedures to implement the derivative market. These new regulations are projected to be issued in the next two months.

In November, the exchange will announce the design and specific regulations for the first two initial products, including future contracts based on stock indices and Government bonds.

The exchange will test the trading system with securities companies between November and December 2016. Brokerage companies can apply to become a member on the derivatives market in December.

Nguyen Thanh Long, Chairman of the Hanoi Stock Exchange, said the exchange was now focusing on the development of a derivatives market and price-making mechanisms to boost market liquidity.

The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange has climbed nearly 18 percent since the beginning of this year, while the HNX-Index on the Hanoi exchange has increased just 7 percent.-VNA