On the side of the Securities Commission, there were also Vice Chairman Bui Hoang Hai and representatives of the leaders of the Vietnam Stock Exchange, Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Hanoi Stock Exchange, Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC), leaders of a number of units under the State Securities Commission and members of the market upgrading working group.

On the FTSE Russell delegation, there were Ms. Wanming Du - Head of Index Policy, FTSE Russell; Mr. Chris Williamson, Index Investment Department, FTSE Russell; Mr. Young Lee, Managing Director of Equity Trading, Asia, Morgan Stanley; Mr. Pankaj Mataney, Head of Index Strategy and Trading Platform, Asia, Morgan Stanley; Mr. Kapil Trikha, Managing Director of Southeast Asia, Morgan Stanley; Mr. Amitabh Chatterji, Head of Swaps Trading, South Asia, Morgan Stanley; Representative of UBS Asset Management Company.

Overview of the working session between the State Securities Commission and the delegation of FTSE Russell and Morgan Stanley on November 4, 2024.

At the meeting, Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission Vu Thi Chan Phuong updated the new policies that the Government and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam are implementing to create the most favorable conditions for foreign investors to participate in the Vietnamese financial market, as well as meet the criteria for upgrading to an emerging market.

The Chairman of the State Securities Commission said that today is the first day that Circular 68/2024/TT-BTC dated September 18, 2024 of the Ministry of Finance takes effect. This Circular has removed the requirement to have enough money before making securities purchase transactions of international investors, and stipulates many new contents on securities transactions, payment, securities clearing, activities of securities companies and information disclosure. At the same time, VSDC has also issued new regulations related to depository members at VSDC, securities transaction clearing and settlement activities at VSDC, securities registration and transfer of ownership at VSDC.

At the meeting, Ms. Wanming Du - Head of Index Policy, FTSE Russell affirmed that FTSE Russell will increase exchanges and work with relevant parties in Vietnam to support foreign investors' trading activities in Vietnam, as well as share information and trading methods of FTSE customers in emerging markets.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley representative, Mr. Young Lee, Managing Director of Asian equity trading, said that the new regulations in Circular No. 68/2024/TT-BTC have helped the Vietnamese stock market to be more consistent with the mandatory requirements of FTSE Russell.

Mr. Young Lee assessed that removing the requirement of having enough money when placing an order is an important requirement from investors and it takes a lot of time to amend the mechanism and policies. In fact, Vietnam has made important changes to this criterion in a short time and he is very happy and appreciates these efforts from the securities market management agencies in Vietnam.

Regarding the future prospects, Morgan Stanley representative said that if Vietnam's stock market is upgraded to emerging market status, it could attract 800 million USD from passive investors using the FTSE index and 2 billion USD from passive investors using other indexes. At the same time, when the market is upgraded, active funds will participate more actively and it is expected that about 4-6 billion USD will enter Vietnam.

Also at the working session, the FTSE Russell delegation and the State Securities Commission exchanged and discussed the payment process for account deficits for failed buying and selling transactions, the process of registering foreign investors' trading assets, the total asset mechanism, foreign investors' ownership ratio limit, trading infrastructure, etc.

The Chairman of the State Securities Commission also affirmed that the State Securities Commission is ready to exchange with FTSE Russell and Morgan Stanley both online and in person to further meet the investment needs of foreign investors participating in the Vietnamese stock market.