The compliance rate rose to 67% from 60% in 2024, the highest ever in the 15-year history of the IR Awards.

Given away by Vietstock, the Vietnam Association of Financial Executives and FiLi e-magazine, the IR Awards aim to recognise and honour listed companies that meet information disclosure standards.

The findings indicate a widespread shift in both awareness and action around disclosure, with improvements seen not only among large caps but also increasingly among mid- and small-cap companies.

Some 86% of large-cap financial companies complied, maintaining a stable performance. Admittedly, companies in banking, securities and insurance are typically subject to stricter regulatory oversight and higher transparency requirements.

Of large non-financial companies, 72% met the standards, up 9 percentage points from 2024, placing them third in terms of compliance.

The most notable improvement came in the mid-cap group, where compliance surged from 57% in 2024 to 73% this year, demonstrating growing efforts by medium-sized companies to enhance transparency and governance standards.

Small companies also showed progress, with 63% meeting the standards, an increase of 4 percentage points.

While still the lowest-performing group, the rise signals the positive impact of improved investor relations awareness even among smaller firms that often face greater resource and capability constraints.

In terms of industries, the financial, media services, energy, and industrial sectors showed the greatest improvements.

Sectors with traditionally high compliance such as essential consumer goods, utilities and healthcare continued to perform steadily or improved slightly.

The IR Awards 2025 programme will move into the next phase, focusing on evaluating investor relations (IR) activities.

The top performers will be honoured at the 15th IR Awards Ceremony to be held later this year in HCM City./.