Vietnam to Open 1st Stock Exchange HANOI - Vietnam plans to open a stock exchange in the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City next month, the State Securities Commission said Thursday. Preparations for the long-awaited launch, expected in mid-July, have been completed, the commission said. The agency was set up four years ago to prepare for the stock market. Only two companies,Refrigeration Electrical Engineering of Ho Chi Minh City and Cables and Telecommunications Materials in neighboring Dong Nai province, have been licenced to list their shares. The government has said government bonds, bank bonds and project bonds will also be traded at the exchange. Fewer than 400 of some 5,900 state-owned enterprises have been privatized since the government launched its privatization program seven years ago in hopes of mobilizing public savings, believed to total billions of dollars. That has become increasingly important with a slowdown in foreign investment inflows. Under current regulations, companies must have registered capital of more than $700,000 and have been profitable for two consecutive years to seek licenses. Most state-owned enterprises have less than that in registered capital, and few are willing to publicize their financial situation. "Companies are still waiting to see how the stock market would work and are hesitant to reveal their backs for others to see," Le Van Chau, former chairman of the State Securities Commission, was quoted as saying by the Labor newspaper Thursday. "This psychology is not good for the initial stage of the stock market." Chau said the commission originally planned to choose several dozen companies to list stocks for the market's opening, but that turned out to be very difficult, given the slow pace of the privatization program. Los Angeles Times - June 15, 2000.