The Internet site for online transactions of Government bonds will be
put into use soon, marking a big change on the Vietnamese bond market,
the Saigon Times Daily has reported.
Nguyen Thi Hoang Lan, vice
chairperson and deputy CEO of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), was quoted
as saying that the northern bourse will operate the site with many
products and information for investors. This online transaction channel
is being test-run.
More products and new transaction tools on
both primary and secondary markets will be developed and offered in the
coming time, she said, adding HNX will also launch the Bond Index this
month.
Together with the yield curve, the bond index is a market
indicator assisting investors in calculating bond prices and
forecasting investment trends, which is expected to help boost
participation of members and investors in Government bond transactions.
Derivatives
like zero-coupon bond, when-issued, sell/buy repo, borrowing/lending
repo and cross-currency repo have been studied, which have attracted
much attention from members and investors.
The Government bond
transaction system on HNX will be connected with the information system
of Bloomberg, making it easier for investors to search for information
and make transactions on only one screen, and facilitating access of
foreign investors to the Vietnamese bond market.
Compared to bond
markets in the region, Vietnam’s government bond market is of small
scale and not attractive. Products are not diverse and the market
structure has not been completed.
Vietnam has yet to have either a
derivative bond market or a connection between the Government bond
market and open-market operations and the inter-bank market.
To
make Vietnam’s Government bond market as developed as other markets in
the region in the next 5-10 years, Lan said measures to stimulate the
bond market such as diversifying types of bonds, offering bonds with
longer terms and announcing bond issuance plans will be enhanced.
In
addition, favorable conditions for insurance and financial companies
and pension funds to join the market will be created. HNX encourages the
participation of foreign investors by adjusting tax policies and bond
transaction fees as well as offering hedging mechanisms for those
investors.-VNA