Saigon Securities is the leading local broker on the domestic stock exchange. But it is the new deals it brought to the market during our awards period that really deserved attention.
When Vingroup turned to Vietnam’s equity investor base with an initial equity offering (IEO) in May, it was returning to a structure it had used the previous year with great success. IEOs are a little different to IPOs, allowing issuers to bypass retail investors and pull off a much quicker listing than usual.
Vingroup, which has now used the structure to sell shares in Vinhomes and Vincom Retail, turned to a diverse group of foreign banks to help manage both deals. But for its domestic bookrunner, it choose only one firm: Saigon Securities.
That was no doubt based on the firm’s distribution ability. According to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Saigon Securities was the most active broker in the first half of the year, boasting almost 21% of trading volumes on the exchange market. That was roughly the same as the combined market share of its two closest rivals: Ho Chi Minh City Securities, which had an 11.73% share, and Viet Capital Securities with 9.58%.
It should be little surprise that when Asiamoney polled its readers to find out the best brokers in Vietnam last year, Saigon Securities crushed the competition. From sales and execution to research independence, the firm was voted the best in each category.
Vietnam has become a place to watch among emerging market investors. The country’s one-party rule and eye-catching economic growth have drawn inevitable comparisons to China. It remains to be seen if Vietnam’s financial markets will ever come within a fraction of the size of China’s, but to edge closer they will need savvy local firms ready to push things forward. Saigon Securities, under managing director Bui The Tan, is one such firm.