Preventing capital market manipulation is necessary but “self-responsibility first, human responsibility later”

On the afternoon of April 22, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to develop a safe, transparent, efficient and sustainable capital market in order to stabilize the macro economy and ensure major balances of the economy. .

The size of the capital market grows at an average rate of 28.5%/year in the period 2016-2021

Reporting at the Conference, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phuc said that the development of the capital market in recent years has created a variety of financial products and investment channels for organizations and individuals of all levels. economic part.

Currently, the capital market has fully formed and operated with all components including the stock market, bond market and derivatives market. The size of the capital market grows at an average rate of 28.5%/year in the period 2016-2021.

Currently, the size of the capital market will reach 134.5% of GDP in 2021, 3.5 times the size of 2015; in which the stock market capitalization is equivalent to 93.8% of GDP; the size of the bond market reaches 39.7% of GDP (of which government bonds are 22.7% of GDP and corporate bonds are 14.2% of GDP).

However, besides the above positive results, according to the Minister of the fast growth of the stock market, the bond market has recently generated potential risks.

In the stock market and derivatives market, there were phenomena of price manipulation, price manipulation and increasingly sophisticated, many securities codes were pushed up in price not associated with the production and business activities of the company. enterprise. The obligation to disclose information of a number of public enterprises, listed companies and investors has not yet met the quality requirements.

The fast growing corporate bond market continues to generate risks because there are individual investors who do not have a clear understanding of the law in the investment and transaction of individual corporate bonds participating in the purchase of corporate bonds.

Some cases have committed fraud when determining to become a professional securities investor to buy individual corporate bonds. The financial situation of some issuers is still limited; some enterprises have the purpose of using capital not in accordance with the announced information.

Despite the synchronous implementation of solutions to restructure securities business organizations, according to Minister Phuc, the performance quality of service providers in the market is still uneven. negative behavior. Some auditing organizations and appraisal organizations have limited capacity and have not met professional standards. Some issuer organizations and corporate bond distributors have not yet complied with the law.

Preventing capital market manipulation is necessary

Giving his point of view, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Cuong, Member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, Vice Rector of the National Economics University, assessed that Vietnam’s capital market has a rapid development rate. In recent years, the scale of capital in Vietnam is still small and the potential is huge. It is reflected in our country’s economy, which is entering the recovery phase, and is in great demand for capital.

Because of its small scale, large capital demand and market development potential, it is considered a good potential. This is the basis for foreign investors to have confidence in capital needs in Vietnam – according to Mr. Cuong.

In addition, the demand for personal investment of Vietnamese people is very high; especially personal money is also large, this is the potential to approach investment.

However, Vietnam has very different characteristics, that is, 80% of Vietnamese individual investors are direct individual investors, while in foreign countries, 80% of investors are investors through investors. professional private.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Cuong emphasized: This is the point where the Vietnamese market is less professional than the world market. It is because they are less professional that private investors easily have a “herd” mentality, which is easy to be led.

As for the corporate bond market in recent years, according to Mr. Cuong, the scale is very small. It is worth mentioning that private placement bonds account for over 90% of corporate bonds issued. Meanwhile, this bond is a bond that can pose risks to untested investors in the stock market.

However, in reality today, the majority of people buying these bonds are also private investors. Thus, admittedly, Vietnam’s bond market may have to think that it is normal for private investors to participate.

Up to this point, there have not been any enterprises that have issued bonds without liquidity, even those that have had a crisis in the past year.

Therefore, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Cuong suggested, in terms of regulations, we need to consider the acceptance of individual investors to participate in this bond market.

In principle, these bond issuers need to have credit ratings and should strengthen business rating agencies.

However, in Vietnam at present, there are only 2 rating agencies, but the organizations participating in the rating are the enterprises that do not issue bonds, the bond issuers do not participate in the rating.

Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to promote corporate credit rating, it is necessary to state the responsibilities of organizations acting as intermediaries to control information, to ensure that information complies with the law, to avoid risk; At the same time, they are the warning agencies about the ability of businesses and individual investors.

Besides, we are implementing solutions to help the market develop quickly and sustainably.

“It is necessary for us to prevent market manipulation. However, we must see the old saying as “first to be responsible, then to be responsible.” In the case of market manipulation, there is a problem. The State management agencies themselves must know this in advance and perform their roles. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the management responsibility of the agencies that assign the responsibility to control the market,” emphasized Mr. Cuong.

In addition, Mr. Cuong also expressed his agreement with not criminalizing civil and economic relations as the Prime Minister said, but those who intentionally harm the market must be dealt with.

Finally, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Cuong said that it is necessary to have a modern non-cash control tool system through the banking system to know where all the money goes, including bonds or dong. credit money…