Circular released on lifting foreign ownership limit
Circular released on lifting foreign ownership limit
The State Securities Commission (SSC) has released details regarding the new Circular on lifting the foreign ownership cap in Vietnam’s stock market.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued Circular No. 123/2015/TT-BTC on August 19 providing implementing details for specific provisions of the Law on Securities and Government Decree No. 60/2015/ND-CP.
Circular No. 123 will come into effect on October 1, replacing Circular No. 213/2012/TT-BTC, which provides implementing details for Government Decree 58/2012/ND-CP.
Decree No. 58 was issued in 2012 and capped foreign ownership at 49 per cent in a public or listed company. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ratified Decree No. 60 in June, replacing Decree No. 58, which includes a long-awaited regulation on removing limits on foreign ownership in listed companies.
Under Decree No. 60 foreign stakes can be lifted to 100 per cent in most sectors and enterprises can propose their own limits. The limit on foreign stakes in banks, however, will remain at the existing 30 per cent.
Decree No. 60 will not only have a major positive impact on the development of the securities market but will also accelerate the equitization process, which the government is determined to hasten.
Circular No. 123, which provides specific and detailed documents on the necessary procedures foreign investors must take to operate in the country’s stock exchange, is expected by both authorities and investors to facilitate Decree No. 60 reaching its full effect.
