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SSI makes Merill Lynch top 50 list
Stock from Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) was listed in the top 50 firms on the Frontier Index by US-based financial group Merrill Lynch, the company released on its website yesterday.
Merrill Lynch recently introduced the Frontier Index to identify the largest and most liquid stocks in frontier markets. A frontier market is defined as a developing economy with an undeveloped equity market.
To be included in the index, stocks must have a market capitalisation of at least US$500mil, a three-month average daily turnover of at least $750,000 and a foreign ownership limit of over 15%.
SSI was the only stock from Vietnam's stock exchange to make the list.
Le Hai Tra, who sits on the managing board for the HCM City Stock Exchange, said that it was good news for a listed company on the local exchange to make the index.
"It proves SSI's success in business, and reflects the appeal of the Vietnamese stock market to foreigners," he said, adding that other listed companies are expected to be included in the Frontier Index in future.
"The ultimate goal for many investors in 2008 is to find assets which are not closely linked to the fortunes of Wall Street," said Michael Hartnett, Merrill Lynch's chief global emerging markets equity strategist. "Frontier market returns are far less correlated to the performance of the S&P 500 than emerging and developed equity markets."
Henry Hall, head of Global Emerging Market Equity Linked Sales, Structuring and Financing, from Merrill Lynch, said that frontier equity markets offer investors a unique opportunity to diversify their portfolio as well as benefit from the markets' significant potential for long-term growth.
"Via the launch of the Frontier Index, we want to offer our customers the greatest range of equity products linked to frontier equity markets," Hall said.
SSI has recently been approved to list an additional 16.7mil shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange. The shares were converted from some 1.7mil bonds at a rate of 1:10.
The shares yesterday closed up 0.63% to VND79,500.
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