Saigon Stock Exchange

The Saigon Stock Exchange (SSX) is Vietnam's sole securities exchange. Over 1700 Vietnamese and East and Southeast Asian companies are traded on the exchange yielding a market cap of $2.8 trillion, making it the world's eighth-largest exchange by market capitalisation, just behind the London Stock Exchange. There are three main indices on the exchange: the SSX 1000, the RBC 550, and the VNFX 150.

History
The SSX was a collaborative financial venture between Vietnam's 10 largest financial companies, most headquartered in Saigon. On 8 July 1951, Lord Nguyen The Nghia called a financial conference at Dinh Gia Long of the countries 10 largest finance investment firm to discuss financing post-war. Tran Linh of Vietnam Capital Investments suggested a stock exchange of public securities, commodities and futures. The proposal was agreed upon by an 8-2 vote; with Eastman Ventures headquartered in Nha Trang and Trieu Commerce Bank headquartered in Hoi An, voting against due to the disagreement on where to open the exchange.

Over the next three years, the finance companies gathered and launched IPOs for Vietnamese companies. The first publicly listed company on SSX was Dalat-based Duong Farming Company. The first security trade offered was a government bond at the price of ƒ3 at an interest rate of 12% for 10 years.

On 14 June 1954, the SSX opened for trading at the SSX Building in the Financial District of Saigon. The SSX Building features a neoclassical facade and 14 auction rooms. The main trading floor of the SSX Building features modern and highly connective automatic trade stoppers to curb a drastic drop in prices in a 5000 square foot main trade floor.

In 2019, the SSX Building is scheduled to undergo a facade renovation and a main trading floor expansion from 5000 to 8000 square feet. The renovations will not disrupt normal trading hours. During renovations, the after-hours trade floor has been moved to Saigon Capital Investments Tower Two floor.

20th century
The 1973, 1977, and 1980 Parliamentary elections caused mini panics in the SSX with each contributing an average of 332 point swings during their hung Parliament periods.

The Royal Blue Chips 550 (RBC 550) is a select index for Vietnamese and foreign companies with historically stable and high-profit margins. It began trading on the SSX in 1981. Of the companies listed, two belong to the royal family, however, unlike traditional businesses, belonging to the royal family the companies are exempt from all economic perks and must rely on a 27% benefits exemption. King Peter is well known in the nation as one of the nation's finest financial analysts, going so far as publishing a King's Invest column that highlights stocks within the RBC the King recommends.

On 3 September 1987 (Vietnamese Black Thursday), the SSX lost 448 points after a 289 swing the previous day to end the day down 877 points, the largest loss in the SSX's history. On Halloween 1991, the SSX had the largest points gain in its history up 2144 points after King Peter announced a significant reduction in the national debt for the following fiscal year.

On 3 April 1998, the SSX reached a trillion dollars in market cap after Parliament's decision to allow limited LLC futures contracts to be traded.

21st century
In 2004, the Vietnam Futures Exchange 150 (VNFX 150) also called the Futures 150, was offered for the first time allowing low capped companies to trade. In order to trade in the VNFX 150, Vietnamese companies must have a market cap of no more than ƒ1 billion.

In 2009, after news of a foiled terrorist plot on an Air Vietnam flight by Air Vietnam pilots, shares of Air Vietnam rose 42%, the largest rise of a state-owned security in SSX history.

In February 2018, following King Nicholas' coronation the SSX jumped 3333 points to its largest single points gain in 30 years.

History
Unlike other stock exchanges, the opening and closing bells of the Saigon Stock Exchange are church tower bells. This is due to every opening bell preceded by a prayer and every closing bell followed by a prayer—it has been that way since 1957—after the coronation of King Thomas, a Catholic. The opening prayer happens a minute before the opening bell and the closing prayer occurs after the closing bell sounds.

Before 1985, all opening and closing bells were rung by Catholic priests or bishops who also lead the prayers. In 1985, the tradition was changed to include business leaders, political figures, the nobility, and other people of interest. Since the inclusion of non-priests to be bell ringers, the Lord Spiritual has been designated to conduct the opening and closing prayers.

Notable bell ringers

 * King Nicholas (as Crown Prince in 2004)
 * King Nicholas and Queen Quynh (following coronation in 2018)
 * Vietnamese fashion designer Evelyn Tran
 * AFC Cup-winning Vietnamese footballer Nguyen The Anh
 * Claudia Philippa Gerber (designer of the Royal Palace of Saigon)
 * Le Son Cuong (CEO of VSoft)
 * Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany)
 * Duong Trinh Nhu (principal designer of the RAE VF-12 Dragon)
 * Admiral Nguyen Tri Binh (Chairman of the Royal Generals of the Armed Forces)
 * Former Vietnamese Prime Minister Duong Phuc Nguyen
 * Tran Ngoc Tuan (Vietnam's most decorated Olympian)
 * Vietnamese golfer Phan Quang Minh (Winner of the 2019 PGA Master's tournament)
 * Gen. Le Phuc An (Vietnamese Civil War general)