The Vietnam State Securities Commission published a set of concrete workstreams for 2025 aimed at addressing market-upgrade criteria and supporting the reclassification of Vietnam’s stock market from frontier to emerging, with a focus on reducing frictions for foreign investors. The programme builds on recent legal amendment proposals and coordination with other ministries and agencies, alongside outreach to international financial and market-classification bodies. Key steps include proposed changes to Circular 68/2024/TT-BTC disclosure templates to remove publication of an authorised representative’s identity when a foreign institutional investor does not complete a buyback following a failed settlement, and SSC-led efforts to harmonise securities firms’ implementation of NPF trades (eligible securities lists, cash-at-order requirements, fail-trade handling, and client agreements). The KRX system is expected to support holding foreign ownership room until T+3 to enable buybacks in cases where brokers settle on the investor’s behalf, with operation anticipated in May or June 2025 after member testing; exchanges and the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC) are to publicly communicate the KRX system’s new functionalities by April 2025. VSDC is also scheduled to bring an STP electronic interface between securities firms and custodian banks into operation in March 2025 and has a plan to upgrade it to SWIFT standards within one year, while SSC is preparing an omnibus trading account (OTA) framework initially for foreign investment funds, including potential amendments to Circular 120/2020/TT-BTC and order allocation processes, targeted before August 2025. Further follow-ons include establishing a policy dialogue group with SSC, market experts, foreign funds and international investors, securities firms and custodian banks in March 2025, and advancing plans for a central counterparty (CCP) mechanism in 2026, including setting up a VSDC subsidiary, finalising settlement processes with members, and enabling commercial banks to become clearing members subject to State Bank of Vietnam approval. Separately, the State Bank of Vietnam is drafting a circular to replace Circular 05/2014/TT-NHNN to simplify and shorten procedures for opening foreign indirect investment capital accounts, with work scheduled for March 2025.

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