he 33rd ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Chairs’ Meeting was held via video conference on December 9 (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – The 33rd ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) Chairs’ Meeting was held via video conference on December 9 as the final event among the activities within the scope of the ACMF in 2020 held under the chair and coordination of Vietnam’s State Securities Commission (SSC).
At the meeting, leaders of capital market management authorities in ASEAN countries spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in promoting the implementation of targets in capital market integration in the region, deepening regional linkage with the international community for sustainable development, and improving adaptation and institutional capacity of ASEAN.
With the theme of “Sustainable Finance”, the meeting discussed and agreed that the ACMF will roll out sustainability bond standards to support bond issuance for the implementation of sustainable development goals, aiming to complete tools for ASEAN bond issuance.
To further foster the regional sustainable eco-financial system, delegates also agreed to conduct research on the building of a sustainable classification system.
They commended the SSC’s role and coordination in partnering with their counterparts in ASEAN countries and member markets in the building of the ACMF Action Plan for 2021-25.
Five main priorities of the action plan were approved at the meeting, which will be submitted to the 34th ACMF Chairs’ Meeting.
Leaders of ASEAN’s capital market management agencies reaffirmed commitment to ensuring the ceaseless flow of the financial services market.
They also pledged to continue priorities for cooperation and collaboration policy between countries in the region and international financial organisations, in an endeavour to bolster sustainable economic development and financial stabilisation in ASEAN.
(Photo: VietnamPlus) Addressing the event, Tran Van Dung, SSC Chairman, said that the Vietnam stock market has flourished amid global uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The stock market so far this year has developed significantly with VN-Index rising by 27 percent since July and 9 percent since the beginning of this year.”
Market liquidity has soared to more than 10 trillion VND per session in recent sessions. The VN-Index has regained the milestone of 1,000 points even though there was time VN-Index fell to 650 points as a result of COVID-19, he added.
He attributed the development to many factors such as the Government's policies, the potential of economic development in Vietnam and the resilience of Vietnamese enterprises amid the pandemic.
Dung said "Although Vietnam has to confront two waves of COVID-19, the impact of the disease itself so far is negligible. We are more influenced by the disruption of the global supply chain and the common difficulties met by the global economy.
“This showed the government's reasonable policies to ensure the safety of the people while still considering facilitating economic development. Although the tourism sector saw a decline in foreign visitors but domestic tourists were still crowded. We see a huge increase in Vietnam's exports and we report a large trade surplus. We still keep a relatively stable exchange rate and inflation rate.”
“Vietnamese enterprises are quite resilient amid pandemic as statistics showed that 84 percent of listed and trading enterprises were profitable as of the end of the third quarter. However, we believe that micro and small businesses were still seriously affected in recent times.
In its latest announcement, FTSE Russell said Vietnam still remained on the equity index watchlist for possible upgrade to “secondary emerging market” from “frontier market,” which was a positive result, Dung said.
He said: “The Securities Law and the Law on Enterprises and Investment will both take effect in early 2021, creating a better and transparent investment environment, which is a plus for the economy and the stock market.
"In 2020, thanks to the upgrading of Kuwait, Vietnam’s weight in MSCI Frontier Markets Index and MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index has been raised to 25.8 percent and 30 percent, attracting a lot of attention from international investors. I think we can say confidently that we can meet the target of upgrading Vietnam market before 2025 set by the Government.
“State Securities Commission has worked actively with the World Bank, to timely update information with FTSE Russel and MSCI on laws and market situation in Vietnam, besides learning more about the practice of other upgraded markets.”
At the meeting, leaders of capital market management authorities in ASEAN countries spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in promoting the implementation of targets in capital market integration in the region, deepening regional linkage with the international community for sustainable development, and improving adaptation and institutional capacity of ASEAN.
The Monetary Authority of Brunei will take the rein of the 2021 ACMF./.
