Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Finance onJuly 19 organised an inaugural ceremony for a separate corporate bond tradingsystem on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

The system enables investors to trade bondson the HNX almost like normal stocks, but in the format of agreement with theT+0 payment mechanism which means that the money or bonds will be immediatelycredited to investors’ accounts.

The launch of the system demonstrates the ministry’sstrong resolve in boosting the financial market in general and the stockmarket in particular to create a medium- and long-term capital mobilisationchannel for the national economy, said Minister Ho Duc Phoc.

The system will help facilitate the management ofcompetent agencies as well as the supervision of businesses and people, thusimproving the publicity and transparency of the market, he added.

According to the minister, as of the end of 2022,the outstanding debt of corporate bonds was approximately 1.2 quadrillion VND (50.74billion USD), equivalent to about 12.6% of the GDP, and 10% of the total creditdebt.

In her remarks, Vu Thi Chan Phuong, Chairwoman ofthe State Securities Commission (SSC), said the new system is expected to helpimprove responsibility of investors in bond trading.

Chairman of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank forForeign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) Pham Quang Dung said the bank hasdeveloped a specialised payment system for the separate corporate bond marketbased on the most advanced payment standards.

There will be separate bond trading sessions on theHNX from Monday to Friday each week, excluding public holidays, lasting from9:00 am to 11:30 am and from 1:00 pm to 2:45 pm.

Over the past three years, Vietnam’s stock markethas experienced many ups and downs. However, it still attracts a lot ofpeople's attention. The number of investors participating in the market hasreached the target of over 5% of the population, which exceeds the 3-year plan.There was a trading session that even saw liquidity up to more than 30 trillionVND, helping many businesses mobilise medium and long-term capital.

Since the second quarter of 2022, the domestic stockmarket has entered a period of decline in both scores and liquidity, making itmore difficult to raise capital through the market.

The SSC has developed a strategy to develop the stockmarket towards 2030 and is waiting for the Prime Minister's approval. One ofthe important ideas of this strategy is the concentration on sustainabledevelopment, not focusing too much on growth in number and scale./.