Transactions at the headquarters of Bao Viet Securities Company in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)
 

Thailand’s Bangkok Post on September 21 highlighted a major step forward for Vietnam’s stock market following the official reclassification of Vietnamese equities by FTSE Russell as a Secondary Emerging Market.

It described the upgrade as a milestone for Vietnam’s stock market after years of reforms aimed at attracting foreign investors.

The index provider estimates the inclusion could redirect up to 6 billion USD into Vietnam, which has been on the watchlist since 2018 for entry into a category that also includes China and India.

Vietnam's benchmark stock ⁠index opened up 0.54% on September 21, led by banks, before retreating slightly.

Anticipation of the upgrade helped revive foreign interest in Vietnamese equities. According to data from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, overseas investors bought a net 2.7 trillion VND (about 104 million USD) worth of shares last week, but they remain net sellers by about 91 trillion dong.

The paper quoted Thomas Nguyen, chief global markets officer at SSI Securities Corporation, the country's second-largest broker by market share, as saying that after the initial excitement, ⁠however, interest is likely to fade.

He said he expects the market to remain relatively subdued until 2027.

"As we get closer to the next inclusion tranche in March, attention should pick up again, and because the allocation will be larger, local investors are likely to see a ⁠more noticeable impact," Nguyen added.

Following the upgrade, asset management firm Vanguard plans to boost investment in Vietnam to about 2.5 billion USD ⁠over the next few years.

VNA