Vietnam to end tax relief for listed firms
HANOI - Listed Vietnamese firms will lose the 50-percent reduction on corporate taxes they now get in the first two years after listing, a Finance Ministry directive seen on Tuesday said.
Companies listed on the main market in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi's over-the-counter market would lose the tax relief on Jan. 1, 2007, said the directive, signed on Friday by Deputy Finance Minister Truong Chi Trung.
It said the removal was in line with "the development of the stock market in the coming time", but did not elaborate.
The Ho Chi Minh City market, which has a capitalisation of around $3 billion, trades 49 companies and several types of government and bank bonds.
The Vietnam Index fell 2.1 percent to close at 500.82 points on Tuesday, having risen more than 60 percent so far this year.
Foreign investors such as Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch are looking to cash in on the robust growth of Vietnam's stock market.
Citigroup has been allowed to set up custody and trade processing services for securities clients in Vietnam in February. Merrill, which won approval to trade Vietnam-listed stocks last month, has called the country a "10-year buy".
The State Securities Commission said it licensed Nomura International Hong Kong Ltd., Singapore's Blackhorse Asset Management Pte. Ltd. and South Korea's Mirae Asset Maps Investment Co., Ltd to operate representative office last week.
Reuters - September 12, 2006.
|