Vietnam to end limits on foreign investment in many companies
A man drives past the Hanoi Stock Exchange, in Hanoi, Vietnam June 26, 2015. Vietnam’s government approved the removal of foreign ownership caps on most listed firms on Friday, state TV said, scrapping the current 49 percent limit in one of its most liberal economic reforms yet, although some sectors will be excluded. Photo: Reuters
Overseas investors will be allowed to increase holdings of voting shares in a number industries to a maximum of 100 percent from 49 percent currently, according to a statement on the government’s website late Friday.
The decree didn’t specify how soon the change will become effective. The cap on foreign investment in banks will remain at 30 percent.
Investors including Templeton Emerging Markets Group and Dragon Capital Group Ltd. have said they’ve been unable to buy as many shares as they want in the nation’s most attractive companies. There are about 30 companies whose foreign ownership is at the 49 percent limit, according to Hanoi-based VNDirect Securities JSC.
“As soon as the limits are raised, you will see a rush to buy in the blue chips,” said Patrick Mitchell, the head of institutional sales at VinaSecurities JSC in Ho Chi Minh City. “It will be a welcome relief when there are shares available in names of interest. Overall it will be good news for the equity market in Vietnam.”
The benchmark VN Index has gained 6.6 percent this year, making it the best performer in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese regulators see foreign investment as one key to the stock market’s growth.
Overseas investors have bought a net $135.6 million of Vietnam stocks in 2015 through June 25, heading for the ninth straight year of purchases, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The nation’s stocks are valued at $58.6 billion, compared with $558.1 billion in Singapore, the region’s largest market.
Vietnam’s gross domestic product rose 6.44 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, government data show. The Southeast Asian government is targeting GDP growth of 6.2 percent this year, up from 5.98 percent in 2014.
