Vietnam's largest brokerage, Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), said on Wednesday it would seek permission to shift its share listing to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange from the Hanoi market.
Executive Director Nguyen Hong Nam said in a statement the Ho Chi Minh City-based SSI would submit an application by August 5 and list all its 80 million shares on the main exchange after a licence is in place.
He did not give a reason for the move, but companies find the Ho Chi Minh exchange more attractive due to its greater liquidity partly due to the listing of major stocks such as Vinamilk, FPT and Sacombank on the exchange.
On Wednesday, the total value of shares traded in the Ho Chi Minh City market hit $31.5 million, compared with just $4.9 million in the Hanoi market.
Analysts said many companies launched their initial listings last year on the Hanoi market -- where listing rules are less stringent -- to test market sentiment about their stocks, and also to take advantage of corporate tax relief for listed firms which expired on Dec. 31, 2006.
The Hanoi market now trades in 87 stocks, including SSI, with a total capitalisation of $5 billion, while the Ho Chi Minh market has 109 listed firms with a capitalisation of nearly $13 billion.
SSI, which underwrites share and debt issues and advises state-run companies on privatisation, is one of more than 50 companies offering such services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
The State Securities Commission said about two dozen more brokerages were seeking operating licences in Vietnam's capital.
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. has a 10 percent stake in SSI while Japan's Daiwa Securities Group Incorporation has a 1.25 percent stake.
SSI said it posted a record net profit of 668.5 billion dong ($41 million) in the first six months of this year, more than four times its annual earnings last year.
Shares in the brokerage gained 0.32 percent to close at 156,500 dong ($9.7) on Wednesday on the over-the-counter Hanoi market.
Source: Reuters
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