he Vietnam stock market in 2015 and expectations on that in 2016

Abstract

The year 2015 marked a special milestone of the Vietnam stock market’s 15-year development (July/ 2000- July/2015).
In 2015, while there was a downward trend in the world stock indices, the VN-Index maintained stable. Shares in the Ho
Chi Minh Stock Exchange rose by 6.1 percent compared to the year-end 2014, reaching 579.03 points on 31.12.2015.
Besides, the macro-economy performed positively with the GDP growth rate of 6.68% which is the highest figure in
the last 5 years; and inflation at a low rate of 0.63 percent. Vietnam Stock Market was still one of the most attractive
channels for investors, ranked as the fifth highest growth markets in Asia. However, the average trading volume in the
market declined significantly compared with 2014. More than VND299 trillion of capital is raised through the stock
market during the year (7% higher than that of 2014), and there are roughly 2,500 billion shares transferred per trading
day, 16% lower in comparison with those in 2014. This article highlights striking characteristics of the stock market
performance in Vietnam in 2015, and discusses investors’ expectations on that in 2016.