The headquarters of the Hà Nội Stock Exchange in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Ly Ly Cao

The Vietnamese stock market closed the turbulent year of 2023, with total market capitalisation by the end of this year reaching more than US$240 billion.

The benchmark VN-Index surged in the first month of the year, closing above the 1,100-point level but retreated to nearly 1,000 points just a month later. The market remained quiet until the beginning of May before entering its strongest upward trend of the year.

In just over three months, the VN-Index rose by nearly 20 per cent, from around 1,040 points to 1,240 points. Securities, banking, retail, and real estate stocks were the most notable performers. However, the 1,245-point level also marked the peak of the index last year.

It hovered in the range until early September before plummeting to nearly 1,000 points in just under two months, erasing all the gains made since the beginning of the year.

During the final two months of the year, the VN-Index experienced a gradual recovery, stabilising around the 1,100-point level and trading sideways within that range. It closed 2023 at 1,129.93 points, up 12 per cent from the beginning of the year.

“The VN-Index showed strong growth throughout 2023. If we compare it with the bottom reached in November 2022, the index has increased by over 30 per cent since then," Nguyễn Minh Hoàng, director of the Analysis Department at VietFirtst Securities, told Việt Nam News.

"At its highest point in 2023, the growth even reached over 40 per cent.”

Lower interest rates, controlled inflation and exchange rates, and public investments were attributed to the positive developments, Hoàng added.

Many more noteworthy events occurred in the local stock market throughout the year, as reported by Việt Nam News.

1. The State Securities Commission (SSC) appoints its first chairwoman

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued a decision appointing Vũ Thị Chân Phương, Deputy Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission, to the position of Chairwoman of the SSC effective from January 9, 2023.

Phương is the fourth president and the first chairwoman in the history of the SSC.

2.The Việt Nam Stock Exchange (VNX) becomes a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)

At the WFE Conference 2023, held from September 19 to 21, the General Assembly of WFE voted unanimously to admit the VNX as an official member of the WFE.

Previously, in 2022, the VNX achieved membership in several organisations, including the ASEAN Exchanges, the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum (ABMF), and the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF).

3. The trading platform for privately placed corporate bonds goes live

The Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) launched a trading platform for privately issued corporate bonds on July 19, a strategic move that is set to list over 1,600 individual corporate bond tickers for trading.

The launch of the trading platform would give fresh impetus to the market by improving its liquidity, lessening financial risks for investors, and providing companies with better access to capital.

Since the inauguration and operation of the dedicated trading system, as of November 30, a total of 760 bond codes have been registered for trading on the system, according to the MoF.

These bond codes represent bonds issued by 206 organisations, with a registered trading value of nearly VNĐ519.4 trillion. The overall market trading value from the market's inception until November 30, reached over VNĐ119.6 trillion, with an average daily trading value of nearly VNĐ1.3 trillion.

4. Vinfast listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange

VinFast Auto Ltd on August 15 was officially traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market following the completion of the business combination with Black Spade Acquisition Co (Black Spade).

After the listing, VinFast has officially become a globally recognised publicly traded company and the largest Vietnamese brand in terms of market capitalisation listed on the US stock market to date.

5. Lowest IPO activity in eight years

In 2023, the initial public offering (IPO) market in Việt Nam experienced a slowdown, with only three companies going public. They are Đông Dương Trade Construction Investment Consultancy JSC, Tứ Hải Hà Nam JSC, and Hoàng Gia Production and Investment JSC.

These three IPOs collectively raised a total capital of $7 million.

6. Intensive market cleansing initiatives

From the beginning of the year until now, the SSC has collaborated with stock exchanges to carry out 62 inspection teams, including four investigative teams, 34 regular inspection teams, and 24 ad-hoc inspection teams that included 13 teams investigating abnormal transactions.

Based on the results of the monitoring and inspection, the SSC has issued 409 penalty decisions, resulting in a total fine of nearly VNĐ37 billion. In some cases, additional penalty measures and remedial actions have been imposed, such as trading suspensions, mandatory information cancellations or amendments, and enforced relinquishment of voting rights. — VNS