Bourse hounded by poor disclosure

Listed enterprises, in order to strengthen their stock prices and consumer confidence, are strongly advised to make information more accessible to the public and be subject to legal regulations on auditing and accountancy, said Vu Thi Kim Lien, vice chairwoman of State Securities Commission.

According to the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC), most listed companies have failed to meet the criteria of publicising information in a timely and standardised manner.
HASTC assesses enterprises' information dissemination based on three levels of information which are quarterly reports, specific indicators and information upon request.

HASTC figures show that, 20% of the 86 listed enterprises were late in submitting their financial report of last year's fourth quarter.

The quality of financial reports has also been called into question with incorrect figures common place.

As for publicising information that relates to specific events within a company that can determine share price, some enterprises have been found to not adhere to the regulations.
In some cases, the HASTC was only informed of enterprises' insider trading long after the fraud had occured, said a HASTC's representative.

Information on resolutions of the management board and shareholders meetings, which are required to be released within 24 hours, were also not provided within the allotted time frame.

A company worker responsible for supplying data in Viet Nam is often the chairman of the management board or general director, which causes difficulties for investors in verifying facts and figures.

"We have urged listed enterprises to invest more in transparency. We strongly suggest that the person in charge of information supply should be the chief accountant, a senior officer of someone that is not at the highest position, making it easier for investors and shareholders," said Nguyen Vu Quang Trung, HASTC's deputy director.

The HASTC has also urged those charged with the release of company information to the public to keep up with the needed regulations.

Source: VNA