SHS CEO: Vietnam's stock market remains a blue ocean as investor numbers are expected to grow rapidly

At the 2026 annual general meeting, Saigon – Hanoi Securities Joint Stock Company (SHS) continues to set a goal of reclaiming the leading position in the brokerage segment, with a plan to crack the Top 10 market share in the short term and aim for Top 5 by 2030. However, as of the end of 2025, SHS's brokerage market share stood at about 1.65%. It is estimated that to break into the Top 10, the company would need to increase its market share by about 3 percentage points, equivalent to growth close to double – a goal considered difficult. Mr. Nguyen Duy Linh, SHS's CEO, acknowledged this is a major challenge, but affirmed the company would strive to achieve it. In a market with ample remaining headroom, SHS believes opportunities come not only from competing for market share but also from expanding the overall market size. The strategic focus will be on improving deployment speed, tightening operating discipline, and enhancing service quality. To realize the target, SHS said it would implement several simultaneous solutions. First is detailed customer segmentation, from which products and policies suitable for each group will be developed. Second is developing a hybrid model combining people and technology, in which the important role of the advisory team for large clients will be maintained while expanding the digital platform to reach younger customers. Third is strengthening governance of the sales channel and diversifying distribution channels. “If we talk about competitiveness with other firms in the industry, we are in a ‘blue ocean’. Because the current investor base on the market is about 11 million, representing 11% of the total population. If we look at the government’s direction for the development of the stock market over the next five years, the number of investors will grow very strongly and this is an opportunity for SHS,” the SHS CEO stated. Regarding remuneration for the Board, in 2025 SHS spent about VND 9.31 billion on compensation and bonuses for the Board of Directors, within a maximum of 1% of after-tax profit and not exceeding VND 10 billion. In 2026, the company proposed raising the cap on remuneration to a maximum of 1.5% of after-tax profit, while setting a minimum not lower than VND 6 billion. The precise allocation will be decided by the Chairman of the Board, based on actual business results. Answering shareholders’ questions about this remuneration, Chairman Do Quang Vinh said the 2026 profit plan (more than VND 1,700 billion) is significantly higher than the more than VND 1,300 billion of 2025, so the growth target is relatively high and challenging. In this context, proposing to raise the cap to 1.5% is seen as a tool to create momentum and align the Board’s accountability with the growth target. The company affirmed that remuneration must be tied to actual performance and shareholder value. If business results do not meet expectations, there will be no high remuneration payments. At the same time, management acknowledged shareholders’ opinions and said it would study options to improve the remuneration mechanism at upcoming general meetings if necessary. The AGM also approved the 2026 business plan with a revenue target of VND 3,739 billion and pre-tax profit of VND 1,718 billion, up slightly from the same period last year. In addition, SHS plans to increase charter capital from about VND 8,994 billion to more than VND 10,000 billion through three issue options, with a total volume of about 107 million shares. The mobilized funds are expected to be directed to margin lending, investment, and upgrading technology infrastructure to enhance competitiveness and scale of operations.