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