Market advances mark governance progress

Vietnam's stock market is marking a 25-year milestone while moving towards a market upgrade, bringing governance quality to the forefront as the key determinant of its next stage of growth.

- By Khanh Linh

According to Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, acting chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, 2025 marks a particularly significant milestone for Vietnam's stock market. As of November 30, Vietnam's equity market reached a total capitalisation of $390.25 billion, equivalent to 81.9 per cent of 2024 GDP.

On the Ho Chi Minh City bourse alone, listed market capitalisation stood at $310.25 billion, 65.14 per cent of 2024 GDP, and accounted for 94.41 per cent of the country's total listed market value. It is now home to 50 listed companies valued at over $1 billion, including three with market capitalisation exceeding $10 billion.

Market liquidity has also remained a highlight, with average trading value in the January-October period of the year consistently near $1 billion per session.

“Taken together, these indicators underscore the stock market’s expanding role as a crucial mediumand long-term funding channel, enabling businesses to scale up, strengthen their competitiveness, and contribute more significantly to national development,” Ha said at the 2025 Listed Companies Conference on December 3.

The year has also delivered another point of pride: FTSE Russell’s confirmation that Vietnam has met all official criteria for an upgrade from frontier to secondary emerging market status. This upgrade is widely regarded as a decisive breakthrough, opening meaningful space to attract larger, more stable, and longer-term international capital flows in the years ahead.

Against this backdrop, Vietnam’s capital market is entering a new development cycle, one that requires higher standards of transparency, governance and sustainability in line with its emerging-market status.