The Ministry of Finance (MoF) sent an urgent note to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), the country’s stock market watchdog, requesting the minimum trading lot to once again be 10 shares from the current 100.

Investor at a securities company in Hanoi. Photo: Cong Hung

“The move would help ensure lawful rights for investors and the fairness of the market,” stated the MoF in the document released yesterday [July 26].

The move, if realized, would be welcome news for investors, especially those with limited financial capabilities, to buy stocks in small quantities.

According to the MoF, HoSE’s new trading system, launched on July 5, has effectively solved the overload issue and subsequent interruption of trading that in the past would have occurred when there was a surge in transaction orders.

“As system crash is no longer an issue, market sentiment has been improved,” added the MoF.

To further ensure the smooth operation of the stock market, the finance ministry requested the SSC and related securities companies to continue addressing investors’ concerns and work on improving the IT system.

The MoF expected the SSC to soon allow the HoSE to receive new requests for public listing and support public firms previously switching to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) to return to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

Due to repeated system crash as a result of a high number of transaction orders, the HoSE authorities decided to raise the minimum trading lot from 10 to 100 from January 4.