Managing assets of 800,000 billion VND, why is the investment fund industry in Vietnam only in its infancy?

Investment funds in Vietnam still have modest asset management value, accounting for more than 6% of GDP, lower than many countries in the region. For the stock market to develop sustainably, it is necessary to increase the proportion of institutional investors and develop investment funds.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang - Photo: BONG MAI

"In the context of the global economy recovering and the domestic economy stabilizing and growing, the investment fund industry is facing many opportunities to develop, innovate and integrate," said Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Minister of Finance - at the conference "The fund industry in the process of developing the stock market and attracting indirect investment capital into Vietnam".

The event was organized by the State Securities Commission on October 17 at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

Must develop investment funds: Strong stock market, strong national economy

Minister Nguyen Van Thang said promoting professionalism, transparency and efficiency in investment activities is not only an inevitable trend but also a key factor for the fund industry to increasingly affirm its role.

Through connecting capital sources and developing a sustainable stock market, further attracting indirect investment flows into Vietnam, serving the country's economic development in the new era.

Mr. Thang shared that after nearly 40 years of renovation, Vietnam has achieved many great achievements in economic and social development. The average economic growth rate for the 5 years 2021 - 2025 is estimated at about 6.3%/year, among the highest growth rates in the world and the region.

In 2025, despite being affected by the world economic situation and natural disasters causing serious consequences, we will still maintain stability and development, with the GDP growth rate in 2025 forecast to reach 8.1-8.5%.

In the bright spot macroeconomic panorama, Vietnamese securities are gradually becoming an important medium- and long-term capital mobilization channel. In the first three quarters of 2025, the total capital mobilized through the securities channel reached about VND 394,300 billion. Stock market capitalization reached 78.5% of GDP, and outstanding debt of the bond market reached 22.3% of GDP.

Since the beginning of the year, the average trading value in the stock market has increased by nearly 39% compared to the average of last year. In the bond market, it has increased by 27.7%. The number of investor accounts as of last month reached more than 11 million accounts, an increase of 19%.

According to Mr. Thang, in the process of developing the stock market, securities investment fund management activities in Vietnam have achieved certain results.

Recently, the rating organization FTSE Russell officially announced the upgrading of Vietnamese securities from a frontier market to a secondary emerging market, opening up opportunities to attract foreign indirect investment flows and supplement resources for economic development.

Therefore, Mr. Thang emphasized: "This is also an opportunity to change the quality of the stock market, including changes in the structure of the investor base, increasing the proportion of institutional investors, promoting the development of the investment fund industry to become more professional, growing and sustainable."

Expected to become the new pillar of Vietnam's financial sector

Representing the investment fund managing assets of more than 3.7 billion USD, Ms. Nguyen Hoai Thu - Deputy General Director of VinaCapital - commented that the upgrading of Vietnam's stock market reflects the persistent efforts and cooperation of the entire financial industry, creating conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to improve production capacity and mobilize capital more effectively.

Ms. Thu believes that in order for the Vietnamese stock market and fund industry to develop sustainably, it is necessary to improve the quality of goods, promote equitization along with initial public offerings (IPOs). Strengthen market supervision and discipline, and strictly handle manipulation and fraud to protect investor confidence.

Ms. Thu said that Vietnam's fund industry is still in its infancy, with total assets under management as a percentage of GDP still low, while in Thailand, South Korea and many countries in the region, this ratio has reached 20-50%. Although open-end funds have grown impressively at over 20% per year in recent years, investor participation remains limited.

Therefore, she proposed the need to expand the scale of institutional investors, direct individual investors to professional funds..., to build a modern, sustainable and internationally integrated stock market.

She also affirmed that to achieve that, Vietnam must continue to reform the legal framework, promote mass financial education and strengthen the internal strength of the national financial system.

“The fund industry is expected to become a pillar of the national financial system,” said Ms. Thu.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-ly-khoi-tai-san-800-000-ti-dong-vi-sao-nganh-quy-dau-tu-o-viet-nam-chi-moi-giai-doan-so-khai-20251017110947103.htm