Vietnam Securities Companies

As of February 2004, thirteen companies have been licensed by both the State Securities Commission and Ho Chi Minh City Stock Trading Center. Of these, nine have capital of VND43bn (US$2.73m) or more and have been licensed to conduct a full range of securities business including brokerage, advisory, fund management, proprietary trading and underwriting. Saigon Securities Incorporation, Hai Phong Securities Joint Stock Company and EAB Securities Company have chartered capital ranging from VND20-22bn (US$1.27m-US$1.4m) while Mekong Securities Joint Stock Company are capitalized at VND6bn (US$0.38m). Neither company is licensed to conduct proprietary trading or underwriting.

Six of Vietnam’s securities companies were licensed ahead of Ho Chi Minh City Stock Trading Center’s opening in July 2000.

All 4 state-owned commercial banks and Vietnam’s largest State-owned Insurance Company established their wholly owned subsidiaries, consisting of Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam, Industry and Commerce Bank of Vietnam, Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam and Bao Viet Insurance Company. The securities arm of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam and the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development are the largest ones with chartered capital of VND100bn (US$6.3m) each.

Asia Commercial Bank Securities Company and Thang Long Securities Company are wholly–owned subsidiaries of joint stock banks - Asia Commercial Bank (which is the largest and considered to be amongst the most progressive of Vietnam’s 33 joint stock banks) and Military Bank (which is majority controlled by the army).

First Securities Company is a joint stock company whose major shareholders include Becamex - an enterprise co-owned by the People’s Committee of Binh Duong Province and several business partners. (Binh Duong Province, some 40km from Ho Chi Minh City, is home to Vietnam’s largest concentration of industrial and manufacturing enterprises).

Saigon Securities Incorporation is a privately owned joint stock company founded by Vietnam’s Pan Pacific and Saigon Business Consultancy and is considered the most ‘internationally minded’ of the licensed securities companies. At the end of 2003, SSI’s reported share of order-matching turnover on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Trading Center was just over 23%; a couple of percentage points ahead of Bao Viet.

During 2003, there were 4 more companies entered the market, including Ho Chi Minh Securities Company (‘HSC’) which is largely controlled by Ho Chi Minh Investment Fund for Urban Development (HIFU), Eastern Asia Bank Securities Company Eastern Asia Bank - a joint stock bank where HCMC Communist Party Economic Committee has major shares and influence and two other companies in the north, Hanoi-based Mekong Securities Company and Hai Phong Securities Company whose headquarter bases in Hai Phong - the second largest city in the north.

Vietnam has thirteen registered securities firms but only four of them - SSI, BVSC, ACBS and BSC - dominate brokerage business, accounting for 71% of all trade.