Vietnam delays launch of new stock trading system

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam will delay the launch of the much-expected new stock trading system initially slated for next week, its State Securities Commission (SSC) said.

The debut, which had been planned for May 2, has been pushed back due to regulatory roadblocks and the unreadiness to connect to the new system to provide trading services to investors from securities firms, the State Securities Commission (SSC) said in a document dated April 25.

Vietnam's main Ho Chi Minh City exchange also failed to report the launch plan to the finance ministry and get needed approvals for information security, according to the document, without elaborating on a new timeframe for the launch.

The new trading system provided by the Korea Exchange (KRX) would speed up settlement of transactions, as part of reforms aimed at upgrading the country's stock market.

KRX will handle the settlement of transactions within a day, speeding up operations and facilitating trading, especially short selling, which was hampered by the current slower system.

If successful, the upgrade would boost the chances of the Southeast Asian nation being reclassified as an emerging market.

Both the MSCI and FTSE indices currently classify Vietnam as a frontier market, preventing many funds, family offices and others from investing in companies listed there.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kim Coghill)