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| Clients conduct transactions at the head office of Bao Viet Securities in Hanoi__Photo: Tran Viet/VNA |
I am a foreign national living and working in Vietnam. Can I buy securities on Vietnam’s stock exchanges?
Yes. As a foreign individual, defined in Article 3.19 of the 2020 Law on Investment as a person holding foreign citizenship, you are permitted to buy securities on Vietnam’s stock exchanges.
Specifically, Article 2 of the 2019 Law on Securities, revised in 2025, provides that both Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals are allowed to invest in and operate on Vietnam’s securities market.
It should be noted that, under Article 138.1 of Government Decree 155/2020/ND-CP (Decree 155), the guiding text of the Law on Securities, you may invest in the Vietnamese securities market through either of the following forms:
(i) Trading in securities on Vietnam’s stock exchanges by your own; or,
(ii) Entrusting capital to a securities investment fund management company, or to the Vietnam-based branch of a foreign fund management company, to carry out securities transactions in Vietnam on your behalf.
As a foreign investor, what steps must I follow to invest in securities in Vietnam?
Under Decree 155, the procedures for foreigners to invest in securities trading vary depending on the form of investment.
In case of trading in securities on his own, a foreign investor must:
- Apply for a securities trading code from the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC). Each investor is granted only one code.
- Open an indirect investment capital account at a commercial bank licensed to conduct foreign exchange activities. The procedures for opening the account must comply with the bank’s regulations.
- Open a securities trading account at a securities company. A foreign investor may open this account and begin trading immediately after being granted a trading code, which is confirmed electronically. The procedures must follow the company’s internal requirements.
Please note that, in this case, the investor must submit a dossier of application for a securities trading code via a depository member of the VSDC. The dossier must include:
- An application for a securities trading code, made according to Form 41 provided in the Appendix to Decree 155;
- A written authorization for the depository member to apply for a securities trading code; and,
- The investor’s identification document as required in Form 42 provided in the Appendix to Decree 155, which is a valid passport or another document of equivalent validity.
After the investor submits the dossier to the depository member, the latter will fill in Form 41 in the Appendix to Decree 155 on the online securities trading code registration system of the VSDC.
In case of entrusting capital to a securities investment fund management company, or to the Vietnam-based branch of a foreign fund management company for security transactions, the investor will not be required to register for a securities trading code by himself. Instead, the entrusted party must register for a securities trading code in accordance with law.
Specifically, each securities investment fund management company will be granted one securities trading code to manage investment portfolio of investors, while the Vietnam-based branch of a foreign fund management company will be granted two securities trading codes: one for itself, and one for investors’ investment portfolio.
After opening an indirect investment capital account at a licensed bank in Vietnam, what can a foreign investor do with this account?
Under the State Bank Circular 03/2025/TT-NHNN on the opening and use of Vietnam-dong accounts for conducting foreign indirect investment activities in Vietnam, an indirect investment capital account is a Vietnam-dong account used by non-resident foreign investors to carry out indirect investment activities and lawful capital transfers related to such activities.
The indirect investment account may be used to receive:
- Proceeds from sale of foreign currencies to the licensed bank;
- Proceeds from transfer of capital contributions and shares, sale of securities and other valuable papers; dividends, coupons, and profits from investment in securities and valuable papers in Vietnam dong; and profits distributed from capital contributions and share purchases arising from indirect investment activities;
- Transfers from the account of the fund management company or another organization that conducts investment entrustment operations on behalf of the foreign investor in accordance with law (in case of investment entrustment);
- Transfers of profits and other lawful revenues from stock purchase transactions that do not require full payment upon order placement as prescribed by the securities law (applicable to foreign institutional investors;
- Transfers of deposits and escrow amounts for indirect investment transactions in Vietnam, including both the receipt of deposit and escrow funds and the refund of such amounts in accordance with law or agreements; and,
- Transfers from the indirect investment account the investor has opened at another licensed bank and now closes such account.
The indirect investment account may be used to make payments for:
- Capital investments such as contributions of capital, purchases of shares, capital contributions, securities, and other valuable papers;
- Purchase of foreign currencies at licensed banks to remit capital, profits, and other lawful revenues abroad;
- Transfers to related accounts, including: the foreign investor’s Vietnam-dong payment accounts opened at licensed banks (excluding other indirect investment capital accounts and the account of the fund management company or another organization that conducts investment entrustment on behalf of the foreign investor (for investors making indirect investment through entrustment);
- Expenses related to securities transactions, such as losses and other costs arising from transactions that do not require full payment upon order placement as prescribed by the securities law, applicable to foreign institutional investors;
- Statutory and transaction-related costs, including charges, fees, taxes, administrative fines, and other expenses related to foreign indirect investment activities;
- Deposit and escrow payments, including: making deposits and escrow payments as required for foreign indirect investment transactions; transferring funds to the investor’s Vietnam-dong payment accounts, or purchasing foreign currencies for remittance abroad as permitted by law; and,
- Transfers to a new indirect investment account when the investor chooses to close the current account and open another at a different licensed bank.-(VLLF)
