Vietnam eases foreign ownership rules
By Amy Kazmin
Financial Times; Jul 22, 2003
Vietnam has eased restrictions on foreign ownership of listed companies as part as an effort to stimulate interest in the country's three-year-old equity market.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai approved an increase in the foreign ownership of listed companies to 30 per cent, addressing a Vietnamese legal anomaly that allowed foreign investors to hold up to 30 per cent of unlisted enterprises, but capped their holdings in listed firms at 20 per cent.
Foreigners currently hold about 8 per cent of the shares in Vietnam's market, which has 21 listed companies and a market capitalisation of $140m.
The decision is not expected to have an immediate practical impact, but investors said allowing greater foreign participation would be beneficial in the long-run by boosting market liquidity.
Vietnam also abolished a rule that limited foreign acquisition of bonds to 40 per cent of any issue.
