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Boom time for brokerages, says regulator
Securities firms thrived last year in spite of the global economic crisis, the State Securities Commission wrote in a recent report.
The financial capacity of securities companies improved last year by 9.4 per cent over the previous year, with combined charter capital totalling over VND24.8 trillion (US$1.3 billion), the report said.
Securities firms performed over 5,000 consulting and underwriting contracts during the year, during which nearly 80 out of a total of 116 companies turned a profit – a stark contrast to 2008, when the financial crisis struck and over 70 per cent of brokerages suffered losses.
Reflecting the rebound of the stock market, 800,000 investor accounts were registered last year, an increase of 150 per cent over the previous year.
The commission conferred professional licences on 2,744 brokers last year, and brokerages continued to swiftly expand their number of offices, with firms now operating a total of 80 branches and 42 transaction offices in such cities as Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Can Tho, and Hai Phong.
These achievements were all recorded as a result of drastic measures taken by the commission last year, when it required loss-making companies to restructure and demonstrate improved financial strength, as well as reduce the scope of their professional services to ensure performance criteria, the report said.
This year, targeting the sustainable development of the nation's stock market, the commission would urge brokerages to improve service quality and strengthen risk management systems. Meanwhile, the commission would reinforce its supervision of the industry and strictly penalise violations of securities regulations.
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