What is the status of TCBS, the shareholder of TCEX, in the Vietnamese securities industry?
As a key candidate for Vietnam’s digital asset trading pilot, TCEX (Techcom Crypto Assets Exchange) is backed by TCBS (Techcom Securities)—a shareholder with immense weight in the Vietnamese securities industry. To fully grasp TCEX’s competitive edge and resource endowment, it is essential to first understand the real industry status of TCBS as its parent-level shareholder.
Core Positioning: Techcombank’s Securities Flagship
TCBS (full name: Công ty Cổ phần Chứng khoán Kỹ Thương) was established in 2008 and completed its joint-stock restructuring in 2018. It is a controlled subsidiary of Techcombank (Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank). As a subsidiary within the group, TCEX naturally inherits the advantages of the Techcombank ecosystem in terms of customer resources, brand reputation, and channel networks. This bank-backed background is a rare asset in Vietnam’s financial industry.
Profitability: No. 1 in the Industry for Seven Consecutive Years
TCBS’s most prominent label in the Vietnamese securities industry is “the most profitable securities firm.” In 2025, TCBS achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of VND 7,109 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 50% and completing 123% of its annual target. This marks the seventh consecutive year that TCBS has topped the profit leaderboard in Vietnam’s securities sector.
Its profitability per employee is equally astonishing. TCBS achieved a PBT per employee of VND 12.1 billion—more than three times the average of the top ten securities firms in Vietnam. Behind these numbers lies the efficiency advantage of its WealthTech model. By replacing manual labor with technology, TCBS has maintained its Cost-to-Income Ratio (CIR) at around 14% over the long term, the lowest level in the industry.
Market Position: Leading Across Multiple Business Segments
TCBS is not a traditional stockbroker; rather, it started in corporate bonds and built a strong competitive moat around them. It has maintained the No. 1 market share in corporate bond issuance advisory for nine consecutive years (2017–2025). In 2025, TCBS’s corporate bond issuance advisory volume reached VND 86 trillion, a 15% increase year-on-year.
In equity brokerage, TCBS has also grown rapidly. In the fourth quarter of 2025, TCBS achieved a 9.0% share of the equity brokerage market on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE), firmly holding third place with a 1.25 percentage point increase over the previous quarter. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), it ranked second with an 8.85% share. For the full year, TCBS ranked third in HOSE brokerage market share, trailing only VPS and SSI.
Margin lending is another trump card for TCBS. By the end of 2025, TCBS’s margin loan balance approached VND 44 trillion, a 69% year-on-year increase, solidly maintaining the top spot in the industry. For the full year of 2025, net margin lending revenue reached VND 3.7 trillion, accounting for 37% of total net revenue.
Capital Strength: Largest Registered Capital in the Industry
Following a private placement and IPO in 2025, TCBS established its position as having the largest registered capital in the Vietnamese securities sector. Its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) reached 491% in Q4 2025, far exceeding the regulatory requirement threshold of 260%, providing ample buffer for business expansion and risk management.
On October 21, 2025, TCBS officially listed on HOSE under the ticker symbol TCX. The IPO became one of the most high-profile listing events in Vietnam’s capital market that year and was awarded “Best IPO in Vietnam and Asia-Pacific” by FinanceAsia.
Tech Gene and Synergistic Logic with TCEX（Vietnam crypto exchange）
TCBS’s core strategy is WealthTech—driving wealth management through technology rather than relying on traditional brokerage models. Its TCInvest platform added over 138,000 new accounts in 2025, pushing its total individual customer base past 1.2 million, with average monthly visits approaching 17 million. TCBS has also earned industry recognition for its application of blockchain technology, winning the “Most Innovative Technology Application – Blockchain” award in 2025.
This technology-driven focus and early exploration in the blockchain space create a natural synergistic logic with TCEX’s positioning as a digital asset exchange. The four strategic focus areas proposed by TCEX management—liquidity building, institutional-grade asset custody, Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization, and investor education—show clear room for resource leverage using TCBS’s existing capabilities in the securities domain (capital strength, customer base, and technology platform).
Points to Consider
Despite TCBS’s prominent standing in the traditional securities sector, traditional securities operations and crypto asset trading differ fundamentally in regulatory frameworks, risk management, and operational logic. TCBS’s success will not automatically translate into competitiveness for TCEX in the digital asset track.
Furthermore, TCEX is currently still in the licensing application stage and has not yet received operational approval. TCBS’s background as a shareholder functions more as a “credit endorsement” rather than a “business guarantee.” Whether TCEX can ultimately translate TCBS’s industry standing into its own competitive edge still depends on the progress of regulatory approval and subsequent execution in operations.