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Vietnam may open door to overseas fund managers
Investors will probably be allowed to set up 100 percent foreign-owned fund management companies in Vietnam, according to a finance ministry proposal sent to the Prime Minister for approval.
The Southeast Asian nation committed to allowing wholly-owned investment companies within five years of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007.
The government is opening up its financial markets to attract more overseas investment and strengthen economic growth.
Under the proposal, investment firms will need to manage securities worth a minimum of US$300 million.
Companies will be required to have a registered capital of at least $500 million.
The fund management companies from abroad will only be able to manage money raised outside Vietnam until the WTO commitments come into effect, the draft said.
“In the long term, the broadening of the fund management business will bring more money into the country,’’ said Bui Thi Kim Oanh, an investment manager in Hanoi who helps run $20 million in Vietnamese equities for Finasa.
Overseas firms can only operate in Vietnam at the moment with a local partner.
These companies, along with Vietnamese investment managers, currently total 31, according to figures from the State Securities Commission, the market regulator.
The expansion of the industry will allow for better regulation and management of foreign funds in Vietnam, said Dominic Scriven, director of Dragon Capital in Ho Chi Minh City.
Thanhnien
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