Global index provider FTSE Russell named steelmaker Hoa Phat and conglomerate Vingroup on Friday in a list of Vietnamese securities eligible for inclusion in its global equity benchmark indexes ahead of the Southeast Asian nation’s formal reclassification next month.
Vietnam is being upgraded in September to emerging-market status from frontier status by FTSE Russell, in a shift the index provider estimates could redirect up to $6 billion into the country’s equity markets, with around $1.5 billion from passive inflows.
FTSE Russell named 27 Vietnamese stocks eligible for its FTSE Global All Cap index.
State-controlled lender Vietcombank, Vingroup and its property developer unit Vinhomes were classified as large-cap, while BIDV, Hoa Phat and VPBank were mid-cap; all six were also listed for the FTSE All-World index.
The remaining 21, including technology firm FPT, were small-cap stocks.
The notice also listed 90 Vietnamese micro-cap stocks for FTSE Total Cap. It did not disclose individual constituent weights, free-float-adjusted investability factors or estimates of reclassification-related investment flows.
In a note released after the announcement, Maybank Securities estimated that ETFs tracking FTSE indices could invest approximately $190 million in the initial allocation tranche.
Vingroup could attract roughly $49 million of this, while Hoa Phat and FPT may receive an estimated $11.3 million and $10.8 million, respectively, Maybank said.
Total FTSE-related inflows are estimated at $490 million for Vingroup, $112.9 million for Hoa Phat, and $107.7 million for FPT, it said.
FTSE Russell announced the upgrade in April, saying it will start adding the country to its global equity indexes in phases, with 10% of the market capitalisation added in September, an additional 20% in March, and 35% each in June and September of next year.
Vietnam has since 2018 been on the watchlist for entry into the category that also includes China and India.
Vietnam is projected to account for about 0.034% of the FTSE Global All Cap Index, 0.02% of the FTSE All-World Index, 0.329% of the FTSE Emerging All Cap Index and 0.192% of the FTSE Emerging Index, when the upgrade is completed.
Foreign investors have sold Vietnamese equities this year, with net outflows from the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange totalling approximately $3.61 billion to date, following $5 billion in net outflows in 2025, according to official data.
Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index closed up 1.95% on Friday, at 1,768. The index has lost 2.82% so far this year, according to LSEG data.
Reuters
