IFC and HASTC help develop the capital markets in Vietnam:
Hanoi, Vietnam, March 30, 2009—IFC, a member of the
World Bank Group, and the Hanoi Securities Trading Center (HASTC) have
joined forces to support the development of Vietnam’s capital markets
by introducing best practices and helping strengthen the capacity of
market participants.


The two organizations today signed a memorandum of
understanding to work jointly on initiatives that will improve
information dissemination and market transparency for the bond market
and for UPCOM, the newly organized equity market for unlisted public
companies.


“We expect to obtain valuable knowledge from IFC’s
financial experts and specialists to improve market regulation and
supervision and to apply best operational practices, especially in the
government bond trading and upcoming UPCOM markets,” said Tran Van
Dzung, Managing Director of HASTC.


Nguyen Phuong Quynh Trang, IFC Head of Advisory
Services for the Mekong region, said: “In response to the global
financial crisis, this project emphasizes developing the bond market to
tap more local funding. Given the scarcity of foreign funds, increasing
transparency and introducing global best practices to strengthen the
bond and equity markets will help better position Vietnam’s private
sector for attracting investors.”


In Vietnam, IFC advises national and local
governments, private companies, and industry sectors on how to grow
businesses sustainably and create a healthy investment climate. The
work includes providing advise on expanding access to finance for
businesses, strengthening basic infrastructure, and raising social and
environmental standards. IFC advisory services are delivered in
partnership with Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Japan, New
Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. For more
information, visit www.ifc.org/mekong.


About IFC


IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates
opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We
foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by
supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and
providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and
governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008,
a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information,
visit www.ifc.org.


About the Hanoi Securities Trading Center


The Hanoi Securities Trading Center is a nonprofit
organization under the State Securities Commission of Vietnam.
Established in 1998 and launched in 2005, HASTC handles auctions and
trading of stocks and government bonds. As of March 2009, 177 companies
were listed on the HASTC equity market with a market capitalization of
24.3 trillion Vietnamese dong. The government bond market lists 533
issues worth 167,069 billion dong in face value. For more information,
visit www.hastc.org.vn.