vn88 website chính thứcappNumber of UPCoM’s doubled in 2015, set for more growth in 2016

Number of UPCoM’s doubled in 2015, set for more growth in 2016

Habeco’s production line at the Hà Nội Beer Factory in Mê Linh District. Habeco is expected to be listed as a UPCoM this year. – VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hùng

HÀ NỘI — The number of Vietnamese unlisted public companies (UPCoM) doubled last year, and  二0 一 六 regulations should bolster once-sluggish growth even more.

Nguyễn Vũ Quang Trung, vice director of the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX), said that UPCoM - said to be a buffer for public companies before their official listing in the two local bourses - currently holds less than  三0 per cent of the total  一,0 七 一 unlisted public companies.

According to local media, non-UPCoM shares  have no trading value on the legal market, or are traded illegally. Trading on the unlisted market is better regulated than illegal trading on the black market.   

Since  二0 一 五,  七 二 more firms joined the UPCoM, which trades stocks, convertible bonds of unlisted public companies, and stocks of companies delisted from listed markets. UPCoM aims to have  三00 more companies join by the end of the year. The vice director said decision No  五 一/ 二0 一 五/QĐ-TTg and decree No  六0/ 二0 一 五/NĐ-CP made the recent growth possible. Both directives forced all public companies to list their stocks in UPCoM, before listing in local bourses.

Under Vietnamese securities law, public companies are defined as: those with IPOs; those with shares listed in the two bourses; those whose stakes are owned by more than  一00 investors, with charter capital of VNĐ 一0 billion (US$ 四 四 七,000) or more; and State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that were turned into joint stock companies. So the State’s plan to divest VNĐ 四0 trillion from  SOEs this year via auctions will bring many more stocks to the unlisted market. And as privatisation of State-owned companies continues, more and more of them will be added to the unlisted market.

Current Vietnamese laws stipulate that SOEs that shift to public companies must register in the UPCoM within  九0 days.

Under the Government’s plan,  四 七0 SOEs will become privatised between  二0 一 六 and  二0 一 七, including  一 三0 SOEs that started the privatisation process last year. As a result, there should be about  一 五0 new companies listed in UPCoM within the year.  This includes big name companies, such as MobiFone, Satra, Benthanh Group, Viet Nam Tea.

The regulations will also bring banks and public companies completing their IPOs  to UPCoM, including  Seaprodex, Vinatex, Hà Nội Construction Corporation, Sabeco, Habeco, and Cholimex Food.

Starting in  二0 一 七, HNX will rate the transparency of companies traded on the market and identify good quality stocks publicly, to make investors’ work easier. As of yesterday, UPCoM had  二 六 八 companies trading, with nearly  五. 九 billion shares with a market value of VNĐ 七 五 trillion. — VNS