Stocks tracked by the VN30 outperformed market growth, said Phan Thi Tuong Tam, general director of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

During the past three years, those stocks saw 10.3 percent growth, while the VN-Index – the benchmark for the entire Ho Chi Minh City market – increased only 3 percent. Over half of these 30 largest shares rose higher than the market average.

Despite the downturn of the economy and market turmoil, listed firms in the VN30 had relatively high profits this year. Eight of the firms were among the top 10 companies by profit. Their return on equity (ROE) ratio reached 9.45 percent compared to the market average of 8.37 percent.

The general director said that 15 of the 30 blue chips were included in the ASEAN Stars, which tracks the region's 180 large-cap stocks. In addition, the exchange often organised visits to international financial hubs for the companies.

These shares served as "the backbone of the market", declared Vu Bang, president of the State Securities Commission. "With their transparent management, they attracted more foreign investors and contributed to limiting price manipulation," he said.

The president encouraged large firms to list shares, saying listing would boost companies' management and funding abilities as well as their capacity to attract foreign investors.

The commission has implemented many policy changes to increase the quality of listed shares, such as urging higher listing standards and signing bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

However, the official requested companies be more active in advertising themselves to foreign investors.-VNA