Hanoi backs first S'pore listing

Hanoi backs first S'pore listing

HANOI: Vietnam's finance ministry will support national
shipping company Gemadept as the first domestic firm to list on a
foreign stock market, a ministry official told AFP on Monday.

"The ministry has been looking for one or two eligible
Vietnamese companies to do a test run on the Singapore Stock
Exchange," said Pham Hong Son, deputy head of the administrative
department of the State Securities Committee.

A senior Gemadept official confirmed the company had obtained
licenses to establish branches in Malaysia and Singapore as part
of moves toward a listing.

Gemadept claims chartered capital of $12.7 million and is one
of the most successful companies listed at the Ho Chi Minh City
securities trading center.

The Ho Chi Minh City center now includes 24 listed companies
with chartered capital totaling approximately $76.3 million,
according to the Ministry of Finance. -- AFP