JICA supports the upgrade of Vietnam’s equity market

This was one of the events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations and 30th anniversary of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam. Nearly 150 participants from related ministries and agencies, as well as Vietnamese and Japanese companies attended the seminar.

In the event, after the presentation by the State Securities Commission (SSC) and discussions on the said strategy, JICA's consultant team – Japanese experts from Daiwa Institute of Research, and other institutions including Japan Exchange Group and Nomura Research Institute – provided reviews of the Project and policy recommendations for the new development strategy of Vietnam's securities market.

Notably, the seminar welcomed a keynote speech from the Commissioner of Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) about "Japan’s efforts to develop the securities market," which could lay many lessons learnt for Vietnamese stakeholders.

This Technical Cooperation Project, having aimed at improving the capacity of SSC and three Stock Exchanges (SEs) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, has completed after four years and brought about practical knowledge and know-how on the regulatory activities in Japan and other advanced capital markets to upgrade Vietnam's equity market in accordance with international standard.

The project focused on securities market surveillance and inspection, supervision of market intermediaries, listing and public offerings in line with international standards, and raising awareness of investor protection among listed companies.

With the intention to cooperate with counterparts to develop the best practices for Vietnam's securities market, the project conducted detailed initial survey on the Vietnamese market and grasped issues and directions for their solutions, and then implemented training programs, consultation and seminars.

Moreover, the project has supported through consultation for the drafting of various decrees and circulars under the new Law on Securities enacted in 2019.

During the four years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its tremendous impacts on the implementation of the project, it was highly successfully proceeded by effectively incorporating online training programs and consultation.

For more than two decades, JICA has been supporting the Government of Vietnam to develop market-oriented economy and promote international economic integration through various technical and financial cooperation projects. For securities sector, JICA has been supporting many capacity-building activities including joint researches, surveys and training courses on bond and stock markets.

Based on the achievements of the project, Japan will keep supporting SSC, SEs, and relevant stakeholders through technical cooperation for further promotion of fairness and transparency as well as efficiency of Vietnam's securities market in the new development cooperation era.

Reported by Chung Anh