The conference was hosted by Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), is a tailor-made conference to promote investments. Organized in three years (2009, 2010 and 2014), the conference has become one of the most expected events for investors and corporates; where they have the chance to network, establish & enhance their connections as stepping stones to better investment & business opportunities.
Although there remain major challenges for Vietnam's economy in 2017, the reform efforts of the Government so far have shown myriad positive impacts. According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.73% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016 with remarkable growth of the services, processing as well as agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sectors. The average Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January - August period gained 3.84% increase in comparison to last year’s data. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2017 reached US $7.7 billion, a 6.5% increase from the same period of last year - drawing great attention from overseas investors. The conference Gateway to Vietnam is another effort - to connect Vietnam enterprises with domestic and international investors, which is in alignment with the government’s effort to emphasize the positivity of Vietnam’s economic condition.
Significant improvements in mechanisms and policies have been drastically directed by the Government and have shown effectiveness, bringing better business environment for domestic enterprises. This helps to attract more investments. As such, the government has set objective of GDP growth rate by for 2017 to be at 6.7%.
Bloomberg considers Vietnam’s stock market as the hottest in Asia this year. Foreign investors are finding good chances at strongly divested State owned enterprises (SOEs) and an increasing number of listed enterprises. The market has become much more impetuous when derivatives were kicked off in August. These bright spots push up economy growth speed. Up to now there are over 1,300 listed companies on the market. According to HNX and HOSE, total market capitalization by the first two quarters of 2017 was estimated at nearly US $160 billion, a 5.73% growth from the same period of last year.
2017 will continue to be the year of dynamic M&A, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) - inheriting from new FTAs and the real estate market revitalization in perspective of investment trend from large Thai and Singaporean corporates to Vietnam, besides the emerging M&A wave among domestic enterprises. This helps to call for FDI.
Governmental policy changes enable many new enterprises to establish this year. By the end of August, there were 85,357 enterprises with registered capital of VND 822.1 trillion, to increase 16.3% in number of enterprises and 44.8% in registered capital from the same period in 2016; the average registered capital of newly established enterprises was VND 9.6 billion, 24.5% up from January - August last year.
With hundreds of thousands of private enterprises operating in many economic areas of a country with stable economy growth, there are potential cooperation and attractive investment opportunities for foreign investors. This year's conference, themed “Capital Market – A New Driver for Vietnam's Economic Growth", will take a close look at outstanding angles of the capital market as well as provide in-depth insights into major sectors and industries that have been boosting the nation's economy.
Aside from enriching presentations delivered by respected guest speakers, the conference also organizes private meeting sessions to allow direct interaction between investors and corporates. 2017 has witnessed some major remarkable developments of Vietnam's macro economy with low inflation and well–improved business environment.
