New funding channels sought for growth

New funding channels sought for growth

Việt Nam already had significant pools of long-term capital but lacked sufficient investment channels.

Investors watch the market's movements in the trading room of a securities firm. — Photo vfs.com.vn

 The capital market needs to expand the supply of investment assets and develop more stable long-term funding channels as the economy enters a period of higher growth, according to experts.

Trịnh Thanh Cần, CEO and board member of KAFI Securities, said the stock market continued to serve as a barometer of the economy, but representation across different economic sectors remained limited.

A large number of foreign-invested enterprises, State-owned enterprises and large private companies have yet to list on the stock market, while movements in sectors such as property, banking and oil and gas currently reflect the growth dynamics of individual areas, he said.

Cần said bringing more companies from major economic sectors onto the stock market would help broaden its coverage of the economy.

Đặng Nguyệt Minh, research director at Dragon Capital, said Việt Nam's stock market had benefitted from its upgrade to secondary emerging-market status and continued to work towards higher standards, including those set by MSCI. However, she said market volatility remained high, with strong gains in some years followed by sharp declines in others. 

"We need large, stable companies capable of maintaining regular dividends," Minh said at a discussion on financial resources held as part of the fourth Vietnam New Economy Forum 2026.

She added that greater market stability and predictability would be important for attracting large global investors.

Minh also called for stronger incentives for companies to list and remain on the market, arguing that listed businesses currently face considerable obligations without receiving commensurate benefits.

Tax incentives and differentiated policies for companies that create value for shareholders and maintain stable profits and dividends could be considered, she said.

Beyond expanding the supply of listed assets, the discussion turned to where long-term capital could come from.

Tạ Thị Tuệ Anh, director of the Financial Institutions Client Group at HSBC, said Việt Nam already had significant pools of long-term capital but lacked sufficient investment channels.

The life insurance sector, in particular, holds substantial assets, but much of its capital is currently allocated to government bonds and short-term bank deposits, she said.

"To meet the targets for high economic growth in the coming period, it is necessary to combine domestic and international funding while increasing the participation of non-bank financial institutions to reduce the burden on the banking system," Tuệ Anh said. 

She identified Decision 1413/QĐ-TTg on comprehensive financial market reform as an important foundation for developing a financial ecosystem with broader participation from non-bank financial institutions, while stressing the need for effective implementation of the framework.

International markets could also provide an additional source of funding. 

Tuệ Anh said government bond issuance plans could establish an important benchmark for companies seeking to access international bond markets. However, relatively few Vietnamese companies have issued bonds internationally, meaning potential issuers need to prepare carefully and seek professional advisers.

Investors watch the market's movements in the trading room of a securities firm. — Photo vfs.com.vn

Cần from KAFI Securities also pointed to voluntary pension funds as a potential source of long-term domestic capital. He suggested making greater use of securities companies' capital, technology and retail investor networks to distribute voluntary pension products, similar to individual retirement accounts in the US.

"If one million people participate, with an average contribution of about VNĐ2 million per month, we could create around VNĐ2 trillion of long-term capital each month for the stock market," Cần said. 

Economic expert Cấn Văn Lực, chief economist at BIDV, said capital-market development should be accompanied by efforts to mobilise resources currently underused in the economy.

He estimated that six or seven sources of financial resources could be examined, including land, public assets, stalled projects, taxes and fees, extra-budgetary financial funds, household savings and new financial channels.

Lực said around 1,290 projects involving 70,000 hectares of land and VNĐ1 quadrillion in capital were currently tied up and needed to be unlocked. He also noted that household savings remained higher than total social investment capital by around 2 per cent of GDP.

"Another channel is household savings," Lực said. "If there is a way to mobilise this resource, that would also be very good."

He also highlighted international financial centres, carbon markets and tokenised assets as potential new channels for mobilising capital, while stressing the need to improve capital allocation efficiency and manage interconnected risks among banking, securities, insurance, investment funds and other financial channels. 

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