Vietnam;s Ministry of Finance (MoF) on May 7 issued Circular No.37 waiving 20 out of 22 securities fees by 50%.

Illustrative photo.

The decision, which is set to take effect from May 7 to December 31, is among the MoF’s measures to support enterprises and individuals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fees subject to 50% reduction include registration fees for the issuance of certificates for brokerage firms, fund management firms; license fees for operation of securities depository and member funds, among others, for which the reduced amount would be in range from VND1-50 million (US$43 – 2,144) depending on the type of the certificate.

The only two fees remain unchanged are license fee for broker and supervision fee for securities activities.

On March 18, the MoF enacted Circular No.144 making six securities services free of charge and lowering the fees for nine others in a move to help stock investors overcome impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Circular No.144 helped brokerage companies save over VND160.5 billion (US$6.88 million) only one month after it became effective, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. 

In March, Vietnam’s stock market recorded more than 32,000 new securities accounts, the highest monthly figure since the benchmark VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange peaked at more than 1,200 points in April 2018.

The new capital inflow has benefited the market and stabilized the VN-Index after the gauge suffered a plunge of nearly 25% to 660 points at the end of March, the biggest tumble since May 2014 when the standoff between Vietnam and China occurred after China moved an oil rig into Vietnam’s waters.

At the close of this morning’s trading session, the VN-Index has remained rose 22.6 points to 819.16 against yesterday.