Overseas listing to require new share issue
Companies that wish to list on a foreign stock exchange will have to issue new shares in that market if the latest draft decree prepared by the State Securities Commission (SSC) is approved by the Ministry of Finance. The decree aims to guide implementation of the amended securities law that will take effect in July.
Apart from satisfying requirements of the foreign stock exchange, the draft decree requires that either the exchange or its market watchdog should have a co-operation agreement with Viet Nam's SSC or local bourses.
The draft decree regulates that depository receipts or DRs will not be allowed for listing and trading in Viet Nam. However, if the DR listings in foreign exchanges are cancelled for some reason, they can be listed and traded in the country.
The draft defines real estate investment funds as funds in either closed or public form that sell securities to the public to raise capital for investing in the property sector. Its securities, or fund certificates, must be listed on a stock exchange.
The funds should be managed by fund management firms under the monitoring of supervising banks, the draft decree says.
No less than 65 per cent of the fund's total asset value must be invested in real estate projects, it stipulates.
To ensure liquidity, the draft decree says up to 35 per cent of the fund should be invested in listed securities, monetary market tools and Government bonds.
The purchase and sale prices for a property will not exceed or drop by more than 10 per cent of its value as fixed by an independent pricing organisation. Prices outside this fluctuating band can be allowed only if they have been approved at the last annual meting of the fund's investors. The funds will also be required to make cash dividend payments equal to a minimum 90 per cent of net profits every year.
For listing on the domestic stock exchanges, companies will be required to have an ROE (Return on equity) of at least 5 per cent for the year prior to listing. Current regulations only require that listing firms are profit-making.
Under the draft decree, businesses that want to list on the Ha Noi exchange should have a minimum charter capital of VND30 billion, instead of current VND10 billion. To get on the southern bourse, the minimum charter capital will be increased to VND120 billion against the current VND80 billion.
Thuy Anh
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