Finance minister works with LSE and FTSE Russell on market upgrade

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang highly appreciated the cooperation between LSE and FTSE Russell with the State Securities Commission (SSC), and provided updates on the development of Vietnam's economy and stock market.

He expressed his gratitude to LSE and FTSE Russell for their support for Vietnam in reforming its market and improving criteria to meet the requirements for upgrading its stock market classification.

The minister informed that during the business trip, the SSC will hold a direct meeting with FTSE Russell to discuss issues related to the market upgrade, while the MoF will also organise an investment promotion conference in London on the morning of September 16, to provide investors in the London financial market with a comprehensive overview of Vietnam's financial market.

Regarding Vietnam's economic and stock market situation, the minister noted that the country continued to see many positive signals in the first eight months of 2025. GDP growth in the second quarter of 2025 reached 7.96 per cent, and the government has set a full-year growth target of 8.3-8.5 per cent.

Foreign investment inflows in the first eight months surged by 27.3 per cent compared to the same period last year to nearly $26.1 billion, up 27.3 per cent on year. Import-export turnover rose by 16.3 per cent, reaching $598 billion.

By the end of August 2025, total stock market capitalisation had reached nearly $352 billion, equivalent to 79.5 per cent of estimated 2024 GDP. Market liquidity improved significantly, with several sessions seeing trading values ​​surpassing $3 billion. Since the beginning of the year, the average trading value per session has exceeded $1.1 billion, placing Vietnam among the most active markets in the ASEAN region.

Julia Hoggett, CEO of LSE, appreciated the MoF minister and his delegation for visiting and sharing such positive updates.

She also shared information about LSE's operations and discussed cooperative initiatives in the context of Vietnam's active efforts to upgrade its stock market, such as cooperation between FTSE Russell and the SSC to address barriers related to upgrade criteria, and an MoU between the Vietnam Stock Exchange and FTSE Russell to develop indices collaboratively.

Regarding the market upgrade, Minister Thang said that the Vietnamese government had been making strong efforts to implement upgrade solutions. “To date, we've enacted comprehensive reform and implemented policies with immediate effect to create more favourable conditions for foreign capital inflows into the Vietnamese stock market,” he emphasised.

He proposed several directions for future collaboration between Vietnam and LSE. Specifically, Vietnam looks forward to enhancing exchange of experience in building and improve the legal framework, market supervision mechanisms, adopting international corporate governance standards, disclosure practices, and promoting sustainable growth.

Vietnam would like to learn from LSE's experience in developing new financial products, such as green bonds, sustainable bonds, and derivative instruments.

The minister also suggested encouraging joint investment promotions and outreach activities to build stronger connections between Vietnamese enterprises and international investors, especially in the UK and across Europe.

The United Kingdom is one of Vietnam's most important investors and the third-largest trading partner in Europe. This highlights the increasingly close and effective strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vietnam also hopes to benefit from the UK's experience in training, improving market awareness, enhancing capacity for financial and securities human resources, and applying fintech to boost market efficiency.

“With close cooperation and continued support from LSE, Vietnam's stock market in particular, and its financial market in general, will continue to grow strongly, making a positive contribution to the shared prosperity of both nations, the region, and the world,” the minister said.

Hoggett expressed strong agreement with the minister's proposals and confidence in the future development of Vietnam's stock market.

"LSE will continue to strengthen cooperation and support Vietnam in achieving its market upgrade to emerging market status. I hope that this partnership will continue to advance, with LSE serving as an effective gateway for Vietnam to connect with global markets," she emphasised.

Acknowledging that reform and innovation are ongoing processes, both sides concluded the meeting by reaffirming their commitment to deepening cooperation in multiple areas. This will help Vietnam's stock market attract more international capital, with FTSE Russell already recognising the country's effective upgrade reforms, a key contribution towards that goal.

The stock market is witnessing the most spectacular rally in bank shares since the pandemic, yet behind the surge lie expectations outpacing fundamentals and a wave of margin capital crowding into financials.

The government is seeking to broaden foreign participation in its capital markets, with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) setting bold new growth targets for investors.

Vietnam's emergence as ASEAN's most dynamic equity market, underpinned by strong economic growth and surging liquidity, will be in the spotlight at the London Stock Exchange this month when international investors gather for a landmark conference.