HCM City (VNA) - A ceremonywas held in HCM City on July 20 in the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc to mark the 20th anniversary of Vietnam’s stock market and the Ho Chi MinhStock Exchange (HoSE).

There are more than 1,600 businesses listed on Vietnam’stwo exchanges, with market capitalisation surpassing 4 quadrillion VND (172.9billion USD) - equivalent to 65 percent of GDP.

HoSE has most of the major firms, which account fornearly 80 percent of total market cap.

Vietnam’s stock market has developed strongly inboth quantity and quality over the last two decades and become an importantcapital channel for the economy. More than 2.4 quadrillion VND has beenmobilised in the last ten years, accounting for 14 percent of total investmentin society.

The market is also said to be a “launching pad”for many enterprises to capitalise on resources to make breakthroughdevelopments and contribute substantially to economic growth and reach regionaland international levels.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Phuc said the stockmarket has made every effort for the last 20 years to overcome numerousdifficulties and challenges to develop strongly.

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggeredthe worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression in 1929-1933, thecountry took dramatic moves to control the pandemic early. It is therefore necessaryto make use of this unique chance to recover and develop the country’s economyand society, in particular by attracting domestic resources and regional andglobal capital flows to meet the huge financial demand for developmentinvestment both in the short and long terms, the PM said.

He underlined the necessity for breakthroughdevelopment in the stock market to better meet the medium and long-term needfor capital in the economy and to join hands with the banking system in capitalmobilisation.

The PM asked for close coordination between theMinistry of Finance, the State Securities Commission, and relevant ministriesand sectors to synchronously develop markets, including the stock, monetary,and insurance markets, thereby optimising combined resources to promote growth,ensure macro-economic stability, and control inflation.

To expand the stock market and better itsquality, he requested accelerating the equitisation and listing of State-owned enterprises(SOEs), encouraging private companies to list on the market, enhancing themarket’s transparency, and applying international standards and practices.

Urging the early completion of the market’sstructure and infrastructure, PM Phuc called on market members, businesses, anddomestic and foreign investors to continue standing side-by-side with theGovernment to contribute more to the sustainable development of the stockmarket and the economy as a whole./.