1
Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
GUIDE TO SECURITIES TRADING IN VIETNAM
International Institutional Clients
2022.01OFFSHORE FUND
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. LOCAL CUSTODY AND SECURITIES TRADING ACCOUNT OPENING FOR OFFSHORE FUND .. 3
1.1 Option for Securities Custody in Vietnam for Offshore Fund .......................................... 3
1.2 Three Steps to Onshore Custody ..................................................................................... 4
1.3 Securities Trading Account Opening ................................................................................ 4
1.4 Trading Days and Hours: .................................................................................................. 5
1.5 Price Ranges ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.6 Order Types ...................................................................................................................... 6
1.7 Matching Principles .......................................................................................................... 8
1.8 Modification and Cancellation of Orders: ........................................................................ 8
1.9 Price Unit .......................................................................................................................... 8
1.10 Trading Units (Board Lots) ................................................................................................ 9
1.11 Trading of Foreign Investors ............................................................................................ 9
1.12 Foreign Ownership Limits................................................................................................. 9
2. SETTLEMENT AND TAX RULES ....................................................................................... 10
2.1 Settlement Procedure .................................................................................................... 10
2.2 Tax Regulations .............................................................................................................. 11
3. OTHER PROCEDURES FOR LOCAL CUSTODY ................................................................... 11
3.1 Transferring Foreign Currency or VND to the IICA ......................................................... 12
3.2 Withdrawal or outbound transfer of funds ................................................................... 12
Our Contact ............................................................................................................................... 13
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
1. LOCAL CUSTODY AND SECURITIES TRADING ACCOUNT OPENING FOR OFFSHORE FUND
1.1 Options for Securities Custody in Vietnam for Offshore Funds
I. Use an offshore custodian bank offering custodian services for Vietnamese securities outside Vietnam.
II. Use an onshore custodian and setup to directly hold securities and cash accounts in Vietnam.
List of Custodian Banks in Vietnam:
No. Bank Address Website Phone/Email
1 Citibank - Ha Noi Branch
International Center, 1st Floor, 17 Ngo Quyen Street, Ha Noi
www.citibank.com.vn [email protected]
2 Deutsche Bank AG - Ho Chi Minh Branch
4th Floor, Saigon Center Tower, District 1, 65 Le Loi Boulevard, Ho Chi Minh City
www.db.com +84 286 299 9000
3 Far East National Bank - Ho Chi Minh Branch
2A-4A Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
www.fareastnationalbank.com +84 283 822 0566
4 JP Morgan Chase - Ho Chi Minh Branch
Unit 1505, Floor 15, Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
www.jpmorgan.com +84 283 823 6270
5 HSBC Vietnam The Metropolitan, 235 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
www.hsbc.com.vn +84 283 829 2288
6 Shinhan Vietnam
138-142 Hai Ba Trung Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
www.shinhan.com.vn +84 283 829 1581
7 Woori Bank Vietnam Limited
Floor 34, Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, E6 Pham Hung Street, Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Ha Noi City
www.woori.com.vn [email protected]
8 Standard Chartered Vietnam - Ha Noi Branch
Ground floor, CDC Building, 25 Le Dai Hanh Street, Le Dai Hanh Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi City
www.sc.com +84 243 696 0000
9 Tien Phong Commercial JS Bank
3, 4th Floor, TTC building, Duy Tan Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi
www.tpb.com.vn +84 243 768 8998
10 JS Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB)
198 Tran Quang Khai Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City
www.vietcombank.com.vn +84 243 934 3137
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JS Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV)
74, Tho Nhuom Street, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City
www.bidv.com.vn +84 243 941 1831
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
1.2 Three Steps to Onshore Custody
In order to directly invest in Vietnamese securities, foreign institutional investors must complete the following steps:
Step 1: Open custody accounts including securities and cash accounts (Indirect Investment Capital Account)
at a custodian bank.
Step 2: Obtain a Securities Trading Code (“STC”), your unique account code. This code also assists in
monitoring foreign ownership limits (“FOL”).
Step 3: Open trading account(s) with licensed broker: Mirae Asset Securities (Vietnam) JSC.
Note: For step 1 and step 2, instruction will be provided by custodian bank. Step 3 will be instructed in the 1.3 section.
1.3 Securities Trading Account Opening
According to Circular No. 74/2011/TT-BTC following by Official Letter No. 2327/UBCK-PTTT, Clients can use the
services of more than one (1) securities company (i.e., more than one broker can be chosen for execution services).
List of required documents to open a securities trading account at Mirae Asset Securities (Vietnam) JSC (“MAS”):
No. Document Number of copy
1 Securities trading code (“STC”) 1 PDF file of each unique “STC”.
2 Securities company Account Opening Contract
2 Originals. Each with wet-ink
signature(s) and stamp (if any). We keep
one (1) original. Client gets one (1)
original.
3
• Business Registration Information of Asset Management
Company and Trust Agreement of Fund
• Or Fund Establishment License
1 PDF file or website link(s).
4
Passport of Portfolio Manager or Legal representative, signing (if Client
uses more than one signatory, provide matching signer passport ID
pages)
1 copy.
5
If required:
POA rights: for authorized person who will sign with MAS on behalf of
Portfolio Manager or legal representative
1 original with signatures and stamp (if
any).
6 Passport ID of the authorized people (if any) 1 copy.
7 Cover Letter announcing list of Authorized Traders able to place Orders
with MAS (Signed by your Representative). Stamp if any.
1 original with signatures and stamp (if
any).
8 Passport ID(s) of trader(s) 1 copy for each.
Email: send a soft copy of your account and all documents to: [email protected]
Courier: two (2), wet-ink originals of the Mirae Asset account opening agreement to:
Mirae Asset Securities (Vietnam) JSC
Att: Institutional Sales, 7th Floor, Le Meridien building,
3C Ton Duc Thang street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
TRADING RULES
1.4 Trading Days and Hours:
Trading days: Monday to Friday (except national holidays)
Trading sessions in a trading day:
Trading hours on the HSX
Session Trading Hours Trading Method Order Type
Morning
09:00-09:15 Opening periodic order-matching to determine opening
price LO, ATO
09:15-11:30 Continuous Matching session I LO, MP
09:00-11:30 Put-through transactions
- Block equities trading/ Bond trading
Break 11:30-13:00
Afternoon
13:00-14:30 Continuous Matching session II LO, MP
14:30-14:45 Closing periodic order-matching to determine closing price LO, ATC
13:00-15:00 Put-through transactions
- Block equities trading/ Bond trading
Trading hours on the HNX
Session Trading Hours Trading Method Order Type
Morning 09:00-11:30 Continuous Matching and Put through transactions LO, MTL, MAK,
MOK
Break 11:30-13:00
Afternoon
13:00-14:30 Continuous Matching LO, MTL, MAK,
MOK
14:30-14:45 Closing periodic order-matching to determine closing
price LO, ATC
14:45-15:00 After-hours trading session PLO
13:00-15:00 Put-through transactions
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
Trading hours on the UPCoM
Session Trading Hours Trading Method Order Type
Morning 09:00-11:30 Continuous Matching and Put through transactions LO
Break 11:30-13:00
Afternoon 13:00-15:00 Continuous Matching and Put through transactions LO
1.5 Price Ranges
For shares/investment fund certificates:
HSX HNX UPCoM
Ceiling price = Reference price + 7% Ceiling price = Reference price +
10%
Ceiling price = Reference price +
15%
Floor Price = Reference price - 7% Floor Price = Reference price - 10% Floor Price = Reference price - 15%
On the first listing day, a particular
stock can fluctuate + or – 20% to
the reference price
On the first listing day, a particular
stock can fluctuate + or – 30% to
the reference price
On the first listing day, a particular
stock can fluctuate + or – 40% to
the reference price
Note on reference prices:
For HSX and HNX, the reference price of the particular stock/investment fund certificate is its closing price
from the previous day. For UPCoM, the reference price of the particular stock/investment fund certificate is
its average trading price on the previous day.
The closing price of the particular stock/investment fund certificate is the matching price of the closing
periodic order matching session (session 3). If a security is not transacted in session 3, then the closing price
of that particular stock/investment fund certificate will be the last price at which it was transacted that day.
On the ex-right date, the reference price shall be determined by adjusting the previous trading day’s closing
price by the value of dividend or right accordingly.
The reference price for the first listing stock is announced by the listed company with the approval from the
listing exchange.
For Bonds: No price range
1.6 Order Types
Limit Order (LO):
o Orders to be matched at a pre-specified price or better price.
o Limit orders receive the lowest priority compared to other orders.
o Limit orders can be entered into the system at any time. The orders remain effective until the end of the
trading day or until canceled in the system.
At the Opening Order (ATO)
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
o Orders to be matched at the opening price. ATO orders are only placed during the opening periodic order-
matching to determine opening price.
o ATO orders receive higher priority than limit orders.
o ATO orders cannot be cancelled once inputted into the trading system. Partially filled or unmatched ATO
orders will be automatically canceled at the end of the opening session.
At the Closing Order (ATC)
o Orders to be matched at the closing price. ATC orders are only placed during the closing periodic order-
matching to determine closing price.
o ATC orders receive higher priority than limit orders.
o ATC orders cannot be cancelled once inputted into the trading system. Partially filled or unmatched ATC
orders will be automatically canceled at the end of the closing session.
Market order (MP)
o It is an order to buy or sell shares immediately at the best available current price.
o Once inputted into the trading system, the MP sell order will be immediately executed at the highest bid
price and the MP buy order will be immediately executed at the lowest offer price.
o If the MP order is executed partially, the remaining volume of the MP buy order and the MP sell order will
be changed to next higher price unit and next lower price unit respectively compared to the last executed
price.
o If the last executed price is ceiling price/floor price, the MP order will be changed to limit order at ceiling
price/floor price.
o The MP order is valid in continuous order-matching session only.
o The MP order will be automatically cancelled if there is no corresponding limit order at the time the MP
order is input into the trading system.
o The MP orders of foreign investors will be automatically cancelled if the Foreign Ownership Limited (FOL)
of the certain stock is no longer available.
Market to limit order (MTL)
o A market order if not fully executed, the remaining of the order will be changed to a buying limit order
with price higher than the latest executed price one more tick size or the celling price if the latest equal to
ceiling price (for buy order) / a selling limit order with price lower than the latest executed price one more
tick size or the floor price if the latest is floor price (for sell order).
Market Fill or Kill order (MOK)
o A market order that must be entire executed; otherwise, the order will be cancelled immediately after
input into the trading system.
Market Fill and Kill order (MAK)
o A market order that is executed fully or partially, the remaining of the order will be cancelled immediately
after matching.
Post Close Order (PLO)
o PLO is a buy/sell order at the closing price after the end of ATC session.
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
o Order is entered into the trading system in the after-hours trading session.
o Order is executed right after input into the trading system if available counter order. The executed price is
the closing price of the trading date.
o PLO is not allowed to adjust/cancel.
o In case in the continuous order matching session and the closing periodic order matching session cannot
determine the executed price, PLO will not be entered into the system.
o End of after-hours trading session, the PLO which is not executed or the rest of order is not fully executed
will be cancelled automatically.
1.7 Matching Principles
Price priority
o Buy orders at higher prices take precedence. o Sell orders at lower prices take precedence.
Time priority
o For buy or sell orders at the same price, those entered into the trading system earlier shall take precedence
in execution.
1.8 Modification and Cancellation of Orders:
Modification and cancellation of orders are implemented for unmatched buy/sell orders or the rest of partially-
filled orders which have not been executed.
In the continuous order matching, Limit orders are allowed to modify price, volume and cancel on the trading
time. The priority of modified orders is determined as follows:
o Modify to reduce volume: the priority of modified orders is unchanged.
o Modify to increase volume and / or modify price: the priority of modified orders is determined since
the modified orders are put into the trading.
Cancellation/Amendment of orders in periodic order-matching session is not allowed (including orders in
previous continuous order matching session).
1.9 Price Unit
On HSX:
Price level (VND) Shares, Certificates (VND) Bonds (VND)
<10,000 10 1
10,000 – 49,950 50 1
≥50,000 100 1
Note: No price tick applied for stock put through on HSX.
On HNX:
o Tick size for shares in order matching method: 100 VND
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
o Price tick for ETC fund certificates: 1 VND.
o No price tick applied for stock put through.
o Bonds: not regulated
1.10 Trading Units (Board Lots)
Trading unit: On HSX, HNX and UPCom: 1 lot = 100 shares
Face value of stocks or investment fund certificates: VND10,000
Face value of bonds: VND100,000
For Put-through transaction:
o On HSX: > = 20,000 shares
o On HNX: > = 5,000 shares for stock and >= 1,000 bonds for bond
1.11 Trading of Foreign Investors
In the time of order matching trading:
o Buying volume of shares and closed fund certificates will be deducted from the number available for
foreign investors immediately after the buy order is executed.
o Selling volume of shares and closed fund certificates of foreign investors will be added to the number
available for foreign investors right after ending the settlement (T+2).
o Buy orders or the rest of partially-filled buy orders of foreign investors which are not executed will be
automatically cancelled if ownership limit for foreigners is hit and buy orders inputted into the trading
system will not be accepted.
In the time of put through trading:
o Volume of shares and closed fund certificates available for foreign investors will be deducted immediately
if transaction is executed between a buying foreign investor and a selling domestic investor.
o Volume of shares and closed fund certificates available for foreign investors will be increased after the end
of settlement if transaction is executed between a selling foreign investor and a buying domestic investor.
o Total number of shares, closed fund certificates available for foreign investors will remain unchanged if
the transaction is negotiated between two foreign investors.
1.12 Foreign Ownership Limits
Regulations regulating the foreign ownership limit (FOL) are covered by Decree 60/2015/ND-CP dated June 26,
2015 in amendment of Decree 58/2012/ND-CP. These decisions provide the FOLs for the Vietnamese securities
market and foreign investors’ contribution of capital and purchase of shares in Vietnamese enterprises. Except
for the restricted sectors, public companies will now be allowed to decide by themselves their own FOL which
is indicated in the company charter. Accordingly, in most cases, it is possible to buy 100% of the capital of a
Vietnamese company
The FOL of listed or unlisted banks is limited to 30% of the total charter capital and maximum holding for an
individual foreign investor is 5%, for an institutional foreign investor is 15%, and for a strategic foreign investor
is 20%.
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
A shareholder holding 5% of the total shareholding in a company or more is considered as a major shareholder.
A major shareholder directly or through its custodian bank or appointed representative must report to the
HSX/HNX when it becomes a major shareholder and must also declare/announce in the daily Stock Exchange
Bulletin for certain transactions.
2. SETTLEMENT AND TAX RULES
2.1 Settlement Procedure
Vietnam is a pre-funding market. Only transactions against payment are allowed. For offshore funds, both stock and
cash are kept at custodian bank.
Securities Type Settlement period
Stocks and fund certificates T+2
Bonds T+1
For Equity
o On trade date (T date), after trading session closure at 15:00, the HOSE/HNX processes all trades and
completes data feeding to the VSD. Depository members receive VSD’s transaction report via VSD system
in the afternoon of T date. Upon pre-matching of broker trade confirmations against VSD transaction
report, custodians capture such deals into their own systems.
o No later than 16:00 p.m. T+1, custodian bank, based on VSD’s notification of cash payable/receivable
(netting), transfers respective funds required to the designated bank. It is treated as a violation of VSD’s
KOP if fund is transferred after 16:00 T+2.
o For equity purchase trades (RVP), the client is required to give trade instructions on T date and settlement
instruction on T+1 14:30 p.m. to enable matching or rectification purposes (if any) before T+2 8:30 a.m.
per VSD’s key operating procedures (KOP). By law, as mentioned above, the client is required to fund his
cash accounts at least one day before T date. By end of T date, his account is blocked with value date T+2
upon receipt of the broker’s deal-done confirmation and the VSD’s reconfirmation.
For Bonds
o On T date after trading session closure at 15:00, the HOSE/HNX processes all trades and completes data
feeding to the VSD.
o Depository members receive VSD’s transaction report via VSD system in the afternoon of T date. Upon
pre-matching of broker trade confirmations against VSD transaction report, custodians capture such deals
into their own systems.
o No later than 11:00 a.m. T+1, custodian bank, based on VSD’s notification of cash payable/receivable
(netting), transfers respective funds required to the designated bank. It is a violation of VSD’s KOP if fund
is transferred after 11:00 a.m. T+1.
o The client is required to give settlement instructions on T date by no later than 16:00 a.m. to enable
matching or rectification purpose (if any) to VSD by no later than 8:30 a.m. T+1 per VSD’s KOP.
Pre-Matching
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
o The executed trade report made by the VSD will be downloaded from the VSD’s system by the depository
members around 15:30-16:00 on T date. For trades that are mis-matched or un-matched, the broker will
notify the custodian bank and investors immediately. The broker will have to send a trade rectification
notification, in which custodian bank affirms correct transaction details, to the VSD by no later than 8:30 a.m.
on T+2 for equities, and on T+1 for bonds. For trades that are matched, no notification or affirmation from
the depository members to the VSD is required.
2.2 Tax Regulations
Withholding Tax (WHT)
WHT Duties and Tax
Equity dividends Exempt for non-resident institutional investors
Bond interest 5% on coupon received on pay date for non-resident institutional
investors
Sales Transaction Tax
o Non-resident institutional investors are levied a flat tax rate of 0.1% on sale proceeds from selling
listed/registered public company’s shares and certificates and bonds.
Capital Gain Tax
o In case of selling unlisted/non-registered public company’s equity, securities, non-resident institutional
investors are required to pay 25% on taxable income (i.e. selling price – purchasing price – Transaction
related costs). The issuing company is responsible to withhold and declare capital gain tax on behalf of the
investors.
Value added Tax (VAT)
o Custody and brokerage services are exempt from VAT.
Depository Fees
Services Fee
Depository for stocks preparing to be listed but not yet deposited at
the Vietnam Securities Depository Free
Custody Fee for stocks and fund certificates VND 0.3/ share/ month
Custody Fee for bonds VND 0.2/ share/ month
Transfer depository to terminate accounts (for each ticker) VND 0.5 / share (max VND 500,000)
3. OTHER PROCEDURES FOR LOCAL CUSTODY
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
3.1 Transferring Foreign Currency or VND to the IICA
For incoming and outgoing funds from the IICA for indirect investment activities of foreign investors, the authorized
bank is required to check supporting documents in relation to the transactions. The supporting documents may
include: the client’s incoming remittance instructions, FX conversion instructions, dividend payment receipts,
securities sales proceed advice, settlement instructions, investment contracts/agreements.
Dividend/interest income and capital gains can be freely repatriated with the provision of supporting documents
proving that the money had been remitted to and invested in the Vietnamese market and evidence/clearance from
the tax office that all tax obligations have been fulfilled.
The local custodian bank normally offers FX facilities through its dealing department, where foreign currency versus
VND deals and vice versa can be executed on every business day from 8.00 AM to 3.30 PM.
Under Circular 05, foreign investors are no longer allowed to use balances in the indirect investment capital account
(“IICA”) for placing VND term deposits and saving deposits with banks. Payment of interest on IICA balances is not
compulsory but can be agreed with the local custodian bank on a case to case basis and is subject to market conditions.
All fund transfers must be transacted in accordance with Vietnamese anti-money laundering laws. Investors are
responsible for the legality of the funds transferred into Vietnam for the purpose of trading securities.
3.2 Withdrawal or outbound transfer of funds
There are no restrictions on the repatriation of funds by foreign investors as long as the investor has complied with
all current tax laws and regulations.
The use of IICA is restricted to invest in indirect investment, to do FX for repatriation, and to pay legalized fees for
services incurred in Vietnam only.
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Guide to Securities Trading in Vietnam for Offshore Fund
Our Contact
Mirae Asset Securities (Vietnam) JSC
Address: 7th Floor, Le Meridien Building, 3C Ton Duc Thang, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
Tel: (+84) 28 3911 0016
Fax: (+84) 28 3910 7222
Email:
[email protected] (Trading, Order Placement)
[email protected] (Sales service, Account opening support, and all non-trading related matters)
14903608 is our Bloomberg UUID
MASVN TRADER is our name on BBG
Alex Wholesale Director Phone: +84 28 3911 0016 Email: [email protected]
Steven Brown Head of Institutional Clients Phone: +84 28 3911 2222 (#388) Mobile: +84 938 056 725 Email: [email protected]
Thien Dinh (“Peter”) Sales Manager Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#115) Email: [email protected]
Loan Huynh (“Loan”) Head of Trading Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#105) Email: [email protected]
Thang Nguyen (“Thang”) Senior Trader Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#170) Email: [email protected]
My Nguyen (“My”) Trader Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#178) Email: [email protected]
Anh Kim (“Anh”) Trader Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#183) Email: [email protected]
Thu Tran (“Thu”) Trader Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#202) Email: [email protected]
Tuan Vu (“Tuan”) Trader Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#286) Email: [email protected]
Tai Dong (“Tai”) Analyst Phone: +84 28 3910 2222 (#196) Email: [email protected]
Minh Truong (“Minh”) Sales Manager Phone: +84 24 7309 3968 (#820) Email: [email protected]
Khoa Nguyen (“Khoa”) Trader Phone: +84 24 7309 3968 (#813) Email: [email protected]
Nguyet Nguyen (”Nguyet”) Trader Phone: +84 24 7309 3968 (#800) Email: [email protected]