Pressure from not meeting public-company criteria expected to be a key topic for several firms in the 2026 AGM season

Pressure from not meeting public-company criteria is expected to become a key topic for several firms during the 2026 AGM season. Following a letter from the State Securities Commission on reviewing the eligibility of listed companies, many issuers have announced they no longer meet the conditions to maintain public-company status. The discussion around meeting the public-company requirements is forecast to be one of the season’s hot topics.

Key rule: minimum free float among non-major investors

Under current market rules, a company must ensure at least 10% of shares are held by at least 100 non-major investors. If dispersed ownership is below this threshold, the company can formally fail to meet the public-company criteria.

Examples of firms failing the public-company criteria

Vietnam Meat Processing Joint Stock Company (Vissan, ticker VSN) said it no longer meets the public-company criteria due to a too-concentrated shareholder structure. Based on the rights information for the 2026 annual general meeting, Vissan has 1,072 retail investors holding a total of 7.29% of voting shares. With non-major ownership below the 10% requirement, the company did not meet the public-company criteria.

Earlier, VIW (Viwaseen) also issued a release stating it no longer meets the public-company criteria. After acquiring 98.16% of capital from SCIC at the end of 2025, Vinaconex became the sole major shareholder of Viwaseen. Free float is only 1.84%, far below the 10% requirement for voting rights.

State Securities Commission notice 2266/UBCK-GĐSC dated 23 March 2026 also cited Transimex (TMS) for not meeting the public-company criterion related to voting-rights distribution. As of 27 January 2026, the company had 1,497 non-major shareholders with an 8.6% stake.

The same issue has been reported by multiple companies, including large state-owned enterprises. Bình Sơn Refining and Petrochemical (BSR), with a market capitalization around VND 134.7 trillion, reported that non-major investor shareholding reached 7.87%, below the minimum 10% threshold.

Dược Hậu Giang faces a similar situation. Two major shareholders, Taisho Pharmaceutical and SCIC, control 51.01% and 43.31% respectively. Despite thousands of minority holders, the non-major group accounts for 5.68%.

PV Gas has about 17,500 shareholders, but Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group holds 95.76%. PV Gas subsidiary PGD also announced it does not meet the public-company criteria due to concentrated shareholding. As of 8 December 2025, PV Gas owns 50.5%, while major shareholders Tokyo Gas Asia Pte. Ltd and Saibu Gas Holdings Co., Ltd hold 25% and 21% respectively. The remaining 3.5% is held by 1,642 shareholders.

Vimico (Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding) reported in November last year that it did not meet the public-company standard because TKV held 98.1% of charter capital.

Market impact and outlook

Experts said the review of public-company criteria under the amended Securities Law—particularly the requirement that at least 10% of voting rights be held by at least 100 non-major investors—is driving strong market movements. The pressure from not meeting the public-company criteria is expected to remain a prominent theme for many firms during the 2026 AGM season.