Retail Investors Catch Stock FeverVietnam has caught stock market fever in the past couple of years, with tens of thousands of investors play- ing the official stock exchanges and perhaps hundreds of thousands more taking part in unregulated and un- sanctioned Internet trading. In a country where monthly wages are a few hundred dollars and where mopeds have just replaced bicycles as the affordable transporta- tion, quick gains on the stock market have great appeal.The Internet market functions primarily with stocksof partially privatized state-owned companies that have been distributed to employees. These are traded privately much the way goods are traded on eBay or Craigslist in the United States. Though called a gray market, this over-the-counter market is quite colorful, with shares exchanged for cash at tea shops in a way reminiscent of the coffee shops that gave birth to Euro- pean exchanges.While the official stock market has been function- ing since 2001, the regulatory infrastructure for both the exchange and for companies has been catching up. A securities law was passed only last year. The law covers the listing and trading securities; the government’s role in administering and inspecting the securities market; public offerings of securities; disclosure requirements and corporate governance of public companies; the organization of trading markets; depository, clearance and payment facilities; investment management and fund companies; inspections and dispute resolution.Building a Stock Market CultureSince most existing companies are state-owned, getting companies to market has involved first reduc- ing the number of companies — from about 12,000 to 5,000 — and then “equitizing” (converting to joint- stock company format) and restructuring the compa- nies. Vietnam is getting lots of help in this task, with the World Bank, the IMF and numerous private firms, including investment banks and international account- ing firms, helping the country structure not only a stock market but a whole corporate culture and system of free enterprise.When Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet vis- ited the United States in June, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation and as- sistance. The agreement will pave the way for develop- ing the stock market in Vietnam, training assistance, information sharing and sharing of expertise in mar- ket surveillance. Nasdaq is working on a cooperative agreement with the Hanoi exchange.The market’s cooling, along with global market un- certainties, has temporarily dampened the IPO market. BaoViet, the state insurance corporation and tipped as the bourse’s next blue chip, had a tepid response to its IPO in May and an unsuccessful secondary auction. An auction of 6 million shares by the Song Da Industrial Zone and Urban Development and Investment JSC in August left more than 5 million shares unsold.Other companies have postponed or canceled their plans to sell shares. Vietcombank did not make its Au- gust deadline for an IPO and the timing may be delayed for other big IPOs in the offing, such as the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), the Viet Nam Bank for Foreign Trade and the Viet Nam Mo- bile Telephone Services Company (MobiFone).
But the long-term prospects remain, as evidenced by the engagement of U.S. investment banks. Morgan Stanley is set to launch a joint venture securities firm in the fourth quarter while Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch have submitted applications to form joint ven- tures with Vietnamese partners.
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