Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung said the reason for not participating in digital assets

The annual meeting of SSI Securities Company this afternoon was filled with more than 1,550 shareholders, a record number for this business. Chairs were continuously added to the large meeting room at the Independence Palace, dozens of shareholders lacked seats. Some agreed to stand along the aisle and outside, waiting for the questioning of Chairman of the Board of Directors Nguyen Duy Hung.

During an hour of discussion, shareholders asked more than 20 questions to Mr. Hung, many of which focused on the reason for not pursuing the plan to establish a digital asset exchange and the race for stock brokerage market share. Others said they had held SSI shares for many years and asked Mr. Hung to come up with a solution to increase the market price to the same level as Vingroup.

Sitting alone at the chairman’s table, Mr. Hung slowly answered each question. He also asked many members of the executive board to answer professional questions for shareholders.

Regarding the fact that SSI is not on the list of 5 businesses qualified to pilot the crypto asset floor, Mr. Hung said that the current review and licensing process is very different from a year ago. The deeper we dig, the less the company sees opportunities and the ability to operate safely and do business effectively. The company has not yet envisioned a model for developing this field.

“That is the reason why SSI proactively does not complete the dossier to move forward. However, this does not mean we stop being interested in crypto assets,” Mr. Hung said. He affirmed that he will definitely join this market at any time when he sees clear opportunities, so as not to fall behind other companies.

Mr. Hung once shared that like many people, he believes that digital assets do not bring any value. Since the governments of some countries considered adding digital currencies to national reserves similar to gold, he changed his view. He said this is an inevitable trend that can make a great contribution to the country’s economy and is irresistible.

SSI once sent people to join the Ministry of Finance to research the establishment of a digital asset trading floor. He himself sees this as the first step in finding out whether he will participate or not and to what extent is a future story. He aims to have a keen understanding of where the financial value is and where the risks are, before deciding when to participate.

The race for stock brokerage market share also heated up the annual meeting, because SSI’s figure in the first quarter of the year decreased slightly compared to the end of 2025, down to 11.1%. At least four shareholders questioned Mr. Hung and the board of directors about their plan to regain market share from competitors in the same industry.

According to Mr. Hung, the company does not compete for brokerage market share with fees, but focuses on service quality. The fact that this number increased in five quarters and decreased in one quarter does not indicate a trend of losing market share to other businesses.

Mr. Bui The Tan, Director of SSI retail division, said that besides maintaining traditional channels, the company also gradually accelerated the online channel. He gave the example of the brokerage team “livestreaming on social networks from morning to night” to reach mass customers. As for the institutional brokerage market share, the company is estimated to account for about 30%, leading the market and aims to continue to grow by about 20%.

SSI sets this year’s target of 15,660 billion VND in revenue and 5,838 billion VND in pre-tax profit, up 19% and 15% respectively compared to last year. Some shareholders assess that this ratio is not large in the context that stocks are expected to explode when FTSE Russell confirms the market upgrade at the end of September 2026.

General Director Nguyen Duc Thong explained that the increase rate is not much, but the absolute value fluctuates greatly, especially when this is an increase compared to the record revenue and profit just set last year. In the first quarter of the year, SSI recorded revenue of 3,295 billion VND and pre-tax profit of 1,593 billion VND, ranking in the top group of the securities industry.

The management board said that the company’s outstanding margin loans had at one time reached VND 43,000 billion. The company expects to disburse at least VND 45,000 billion this year. Input capital to service margin is assessed by the management board to be not difficult, due to relationships with many domestic banks and foreign financial institutions.

At the annual meeting, SSI approved a plan to pay 10% cash dividends and 20% stock dividends. This is the 20th consecutive year this business has paid cash dividends. This is considered a rare record in Vietnam, where the stock market has only been trading for more than 25 years.