Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has agreed to a proposal from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) on reducing fees for a number of brokerage services in a move to help investors and traders cope with effects from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Following the move, four transaction fees for derivatives market would be adjusted this week with immediate effect, Tran Van Dung, chairman of the SSC, told local media.

Dung stated the SSC, the country’s stock market watchdog, would continue to review other fees to provide timely support for investors and the market, adding this is key to stabilizing investor sentiment and in line with the Prime Minister’s directive No.11 regarding measures to address concerns of the business community amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Dung, fiscal and monetary support from the US and other countries at the moment is necessary to help their respective economies recover. However, the Federal Reserve (Fed)’s emergency move to steeply reduce its benchmark interest rates to 0 – 0.25% from the previous target range of 1 – 1.25% ahead of its scheduled meeting are causing negative impacts on investor sentiment globally, including those in Vietnam.

Under this circumstance, Dung expected the domestic and international stock markets to face strong volatility in the coming days.

However, the SSC is committed to minimizing its intervention into the market and respecting the supply – demand self-adjustment, Dung said.

Once the pandemic is contained, there are reasons to expect a strong growth of Vietnam’s economy and the stock market, given its internal strength and solid macro-economic fundamental, Dung added.

Moreover, with Vietnam being an active member of free trade agreements, a global shift in investment flow and the government’s willingness to create favorable conditions for economic growth, Vietnam would remain a global and regional spotlight when the pandemic is put under control.

Dung urged enterprises, intermediary financial institutions and investors to trust the internal strengths of the economy and the resilience of Vietnam’s stock market.

Such confidence would help the market rebound sooner and avoid unnecessary sell-offs, Dung stated.

In the coming time, the SSC would continue to closely monitor the market and only intervene out of necessity, Dung added, stating the authority would strictly punish cases of market manipulation or providing false information for unfair gains.