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Vietnam Is Reforming Its Financial Markets to Attract Global Capital
Vietnam is targeting a much higher economic growth trajectory over the coming years. Supporting that ambition will require a larger and more diversified pool of capital for infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and private sector expansion.
Today, Vietnam’s financial system remains heavily bank led, with bank credit equivalent to around 145% of GDP.
That makes the development of deeper equity and corporate bond markets increasingly important, not only to diversify funding beyond bank credit, but also to attract more long term domestic and international capital.
On the equity side, progress is already visible. A series of reforms to improve market accessibility has supported Vietnam’s reclassification to FTSE Russell Secondary Emerging Market status, increasing its visibility to global investors.
But there is still significant room to grow.
Vietnam’s equity market capitalization is around 72% of GDP, compared with 89% in Thailand, 103% in Malaysia, 137% in Singapore and 147% in Korea.
The opportunity is even larger in corporate bonds. Outstanding corporate bonds represent only around 11% of GDP, versus 23% in Thailand, 55% in Malaysia and 75% in Korea.
For us, these gaps are not simply signs of an underdeveloped market. They also show how much further Vietnam’s financial system can deepen as the economy grows.
A larger equity market can broaden access to long term risk capital, while a deeper and more transparent corporate bond market can provide companies with another important funding channel alongside banks.
The reform agenda is also extending across the broader financial system.
Vietnam has a long term objective of improving its sovereign credit standing toward investment grade, which could broaden the pool of global institutional capital able to invest in the country and improve access to international funding.
At the same time, the banking system is being strengthened. Authorities are encouraging systemically important commercial banks to move toward Basel III standards from 2026, alongside wider reforms aimed at improving risk management, supervision and financial system resilience through 2030.
The direction is increasingly clear: deeper capital markets, stronger financial institutions and greater accessibility for international investors.
Vietnam’s next stage of growth will require more than credit expansion alone. The encouraging part is that its financial markets still have substantial room to develop, while many of the reforms needed to unlock that capital are already underway.
