Vietnam Joins China, India, Singapore, Korea in ASIFMA Capital Leaders Group

Overview

Vietnam has separated from the rest of ASEAN to join China, India, Singapore and South Korea in the leading group of Asia-Pacific markets attracting international capital, according to Peter Stein, CEO of the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA). He made the remarks at a panel during the “Viet Nam Becoming” event hosted by Saigon Securities (SSI) on 18 September. The classification matters for SSI, listed on HOSE, because it frames Vietnam’s capital-market infrastructure as the driver of foreign institutional engagement rather than an AI supply-chain story.

Key Facts

• ASIFMA CEO Peter Stein spoke at the “Viet Nam Becoming” event organised by SSI on the morning of 18 September.
• Vietnam is the only emerging market in the leading group, alongside China, India, Singapore and South Korea.
• Stein described the regional pattern as a “K-shaped divergence”, with capital concentrating in some markets and bypassing others.
• ASIFMA’s Asia-Pacific Global Capital Markets Survey covers buy-side and sell-side members across 13 Asia-Pacific markets.
• Optimism on regional business prospects is at its highest in the survey’s five-year history.
• About two-thirds of surveyed members plan to expand operations in APAC over the next three years.
• The survey asked where members want to add presence, licences and business lines, not where they allocate client money.
• SSI shares closed at VND 21,400 on 18 September 2026.

What Happened

Stein said Asian capital markets are entering an increasingly competitive contest for international flows. Some markets are benefiting from their position in the global AI supply chain, while portfolio-diversification demand is pushing investors toward markets with long-term growth prospects. The ASIFMA survey, conducted annually with buy-side and sell-side members across 13 Asia-Pacific markets, found the highest level of optimism about regional business prospects since the survey began five years ago.

Crucially, the survey did not ask members where they would allocate client money. It asked where they intend to increase presence, obtain additional licences and expand business operations. The results show that although the region’s overall attractiveness is rising, capital and financial-institution presence are diverging sharply between individual markets. Stein placed Vietnam in the top tier, noting it has not benefited directly from the AI narrative in the way some peers have. He attributed its appeal to long-term growth prospects and the fundamental foundations the market has built, particularly capital-market infrastructure.

Market Context

SSI trades on HOSE and closed at VND 21,400 on 18 September 2026, the same day as the event. As one of Vietnam’s largest securities firms, SSI’s franchise is directly geared to foreign institutional participation, brokerage activity and capital-market deepening. The remarks land against a broader Vietnamese market narrative centred on the upgrade path for market classification and the build-out of trading infrastructure, themes that have driven foreign-flow expectations across the securities sector. The article does not provide index-level or foreign-flow data for the session.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the thesis is that Vietnam’s re-rating case rests on capital-market plumbing rather than a technology-cycle windfall. Stein’s emphasis on the central counterparty (CCP) system as a positive step, while urging continued dialogue with the global financial community, points to the mechanics that determine whether foreign institutions can scale exposure: clearing, settlement, free float and market-access rules. He argued the market is moving in the right direction and should consolidate existing progress rather than rush changes that have not been fully considered. For SSI, that framing supports a structural, multi-year expansion in institutional participation rather than a cyclical trading-volume story.

What to Watch

• Progress and timelines for the central counterparty (CCP) clearing model and related market-infrastructure reforms.
• Any update on Vietnam’s market classification status and free-float requirements.
• Foreign-ownership and market-access rule changes affecting securities firms.
• SSI’s quarterly earnings and brokerage market-share disclosures for evidence of institutional flow.
• The next ASIFMA Asia-Pacific Global Capital Markets Survey for confirmation of the K-shaped divergence trend.