At a press conference, Bang said stock market capitalisation this year accounted for nearly 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Bang said: “Compared to the end of last year when market capitalisation increased unexpectedly when share prices skyrocketed, this year the surge in market capitalisation was thanks to a rise in listed share volume and is therefore solid growth.

To increase supply, to meet the Government’s target, the SSC would allow many more companies to list, thus giving investors a wider range of commodities, while the commission plans to encourage the establishment of investment funds and investment institutions, he said.

From January 2 to December 11 this year, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange conducted 235 trading sessions with a total stock volume of nearly 1.7 billion shares worth 192 trillion VND (12 billion USD).

At the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre (HASTC), more than 580.5 million shares worth 60 trillion VND (3.7 billion USD) were traded.

There were 38 companies listing this year, including 21 on the HCM City bourse and 17 on the HASTC, bringing the total number of companies listed on the two bourses to 238. By the end of the year, that number is expected to rise to 250.

The companies listing this year have performed well, with business results expected to exceed targets, said Bang.

“In 2007, successful capital mobilisation by companies, especially commercial banks, has shown the value of raising capital for development on the stock market,” he said.

Nearly 180 companies made public offerings of 2.5 billion shares worth 48 trillion VND ( 3 billion USD), 25 times the number of shares offered in 2006.

This year, the commission granted operating licences to 19 securities companies, six fund management companies and four securities investment funds, bringing the number of securities firms to 74 and fund management companies to 24.

This year, foreign investors opened 7,500 accounts - three times more than in 2006 - holding between 25 percent and 30 percent of listed companies’ shares.

Related to the market’s performance this year, Bang said from January to March, the VN-Index boomed, reaching a record 1,170,67 points on March 12, before declining through to the end of April.

The index fluctuated between 900 and 1,000 points over the next three months, bottoming out at 883.9 points on August 6, before climbing gradually until mid December.

Addressing fears that limits on the number of shares permitted to be offered by the end of the year could lead to problems with supply and demand, Bang said the SSC would consider relaxing the regulations if requested.

Source: VNAgency.