Enterprises encouraged to list abroad

Hanoi (VNA) - Listing stocks on foreign exchanges will open up opportunities
for Vietnamese enterprises to access foreign investment, said Nguyen Ngoc
Canh, Director of the International Cooperation Department under the State
Securities Commission (SSC).

The SSC official made the remark in his talk with a Vietnam News Agency
(VNA) reporter on the sidelines of a workshop on securities that opened in
Hanoi on Nov. 12.

To achieve the goals set under the Government's strategy for rapid and
sustainable economic development in the 2010-2020 period, Vietnam is
predicted to need 140 billion USD in 2010, with 65 percent of this total
expected to be raised through the securities market. However, constant
fluctuations in the market have threatened the outlook of offering stocks to
raise capital.

The VN-Index has so far this year fallen by more than 60 percent to 342.33
points at the end of trading on Nov. 12. This trend is causing investors to
worry, despite the Price-Earnings (P/E) ratio of stocks remaining attractive
at 7-7.5 percent.

In these circumstances, listing on foreign securities markets is a good
option to diversify sources of capital, export markets and promotion of
trade, Canh stated.

In fact, the idea of listing stocks on foreign stock exchanges attracted
businesses' attention as early as 2005. Cavico, VinaCapital, Vinamilk and
Kinh Do have all made preparations for listing abroad.

The government has drawn up policies to encourage this, and the Singapore
Stock Exchange has provided consultancy services to several Vietnamese
enterprises. However, no firms have so far listed their stocks abroad,
according to the State Securities Commission.

Canh added that enterprises that would like to be listed on foreign stock
exchanges have to ensure that they follow conditions governing local stock
exchanges and obey regulations regarding the release of information,
business management and accounting and auditing procedures.

Duong Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Director of the Centre for Securities Depository,
said that currently, Vietnam has no regulations regarding the percentage
of foreign ownership with Vietnamese firms listing on foreign stock
exchanges.

Meanwhile, Marcus Chow, an expert from Drew & Napier, a company that
provides consultancy services regarding listing on the Singapore Stock
Exchanges, said that Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their standards
of business management and auditing to ensure they meet international
standards.

A workshop on the listing and public offering of Vietnamese stocks and
shares will be held in Singapore on Nov. 17-18 to help those interested
to learn more about the procedures necessary for listing stocks and shares
on overseas exchanges.-Enditem