Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc chaired an investment promotion conference themed “Vietnam – Investment Destination” in Tokyo on March 12, which drew representatives from leading Vietnamese and Japanese financial institutions, banks, life insurance corporations, investment funds, and securities companies.

Addressing the event, Phoc said that Japan has become a leading economic partner of Vietnam, and Vietnam has been an important partner of Japan in Southeast Asia.

He said he hopes the conference will provide more cooperation ideas for businesses of the two sides, thus deepening their relations and contributing to promoting the Vietnam-Japan ties.

Briefing participants on the development of the securities market of Vietnam, the official said that the market saw good recovery in 2023 with increasingly completed structure.

The Vietnam stock market has remained a bright spot in attracting domestic and foreign investors, and is an effective and important capital channel for the economy, he said, stressing that upgrading Vietnam's stock market from a frontier market into an emerging market is one of the major goals that the Vietnamese Government is aiming for.

The goal has been included in the project to restructure the stock and insurance markets until 2020 with a vision to 2025 and the strategy for stock market development until 2030, he noted.

At the review period in September 2023, FTSE Russell kept Vietnam on the watch list for upgrading from a frontier market to a secondary emerging market and recognised the reaffirmation of commitment of leaders of Vietnam's stock market management agencies in upgrading the market.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Securities Commission have conducted many activities to cooperate with foreign partners and exchange information with relevant parties to attract foreign investment and remove obstacles facing investors while investing in the Vietnamese stock market, stated Phoc.

The minister affirmed that Vietnam will drastically implement market development solutions, including perfecting the legal framework, speeding up digital transformation, and strengthening inspection to ensure a safe and transparent stock market.

At the event, companies that have listed in the Vietnamese stock market highlighted investment opportunities in the Vietnamese stock market, as well as the potential for green finance development and their capital demand and cooperation needs.

Takafumi Oue, head of the representative office of Daiwa Securities in Vietnam, which has been present in Vietnam for 16 years, said that the Vietnamese stock market is welcomed by Japanese investors and affirmed that Daiwa will expand its operation in Vietnam in the coming time, creating opportunities for Japanese businesses to invest in Vietnam.

Japanese investors at the event showed their interest in the Vietnamese market and raised many questions on policies to develop and upgrade the market as well as attract new capital inflows. Their questions were answered by Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission Vu Thi Chan Phuong./.VNA