TTC AgriS eyes full foreign-ownership room to ride Vietnam’s potential market upgrade

TTC AgriS eyes full foreign-ownership room to ride Vietnam’s potential market upgrade

TTC AgriS, the country’s largest sugar producer, has moved to keep its foreign ownership limit at 100 per cent as part of preparations for an anticipated re-rating of the Vietnamese stock market from frontier to emerging status.

Raising the foreign ownership cap often comes with heightened expectations for transparency and corporate governance. Photo: TTC AgriS

The Board of Directors approved the necessary resolutions at a meeting on June 11, and two days later, released the full set of documents for a written ballot so that shareholders could formally endorse the plan. The paperwork asked shareholders to adjust business lines to ensure full compliance with sectoral rules on overseas investment and clear the way for an employee stock-ownership plan (ESOP).

Management said the housekeeping exercise is intended to eliminate technical barriers for foreign investors and cement TTC AgriS’ status as a free-float candidate once Vietnam completes its long-awaited upgrade. Market reforms have accelerated in recent months: the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange rolled out a same-day settlement platform on May 5, a move analysts believe could tick the final box for index compilers. FTSE Russell is scheduled to review its country classification in September, while MSCI is expected to place Vietnam on its watch-list later this year.

An upgrade would open the door to sizeable passive inflows. The World Bank has estimated net foreign buying of $5-25 billion by 2030 once Vietnam enters the key emerging-market basket, underscoring why listed companies are racing to lift or maintain their foreign room.

Foreign appetite for TTC AgriS is already building: overseas investors controlled just over 21 per cent of the free float at the end of May, almost double the level a year earlier. Keeping the room at 100 per cent would allow further headroom for global funds that track, or seek to pre-empt, the MSCI and FTSE indices.

Operationally, TTC AgriS commands about 72,000 hectares of sugar-cane plantations and can crush nearly 4,700 tonnes of cane per day. According to its 2024 annual report, the group holds roughly 46 per cent of the domestic sugar market and has been expanding downstream into high-margin co-products and renewable energy as part of a broader climate-aligned strategy.

Parallel to the foreign ownership limit, the proposed ESOP will issue about 40.7 million shares (4.87 per cent of capital) to key staff, a bid to lock in talent ahead of the firm’s 2025-2030 growth push. Executives argue that aligning employee incentives with long-term performance is essential if the company is to scale its integrated agri-supply chain and capture value beyond raw sugar.

TTC AgriS’ latest manoeuvre mirrors a wider trend among blue-chips eager to position themselves for the influx of institutional capital and the heightened governance scrutiny that comes with an emerging market badge. Should Vietnam secure the long-discussed upgrade, companies with ample foreign room, robust liquidity, and clear ESG narratives, traits TTC AgriS is cultivating, are likely to feature prominently on international buy-lists.

While the timetable for re-classification ultimately rests with the index providers, TTC AgriS’ proactive stance sends a strong signal to shareholders and potential investors alike. The company intends not merely to benefit from Vietnam’s market evolution, but to help set the benchmark for the transparency and openness the upgrade demands.

VIR