HO CHI MINH CITY: Vingroup JSC is among over 100 Vietnamese companies added to FTSE Russell’s Global Equity Indexes late last Friday, marking a key step in the country’s long-awaited transition from frontier to secondary emerging market (EM) status.
Vingroup was joined by Hoa Phat Group JSC, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank and Vinhomes JSC as new constituents of the closely watched benchmarks including the EM gauge following a semi-annual review, according to a statement by the index provider.
As many as six stocks were also added to the widely-followed FTSE All-World Index, the statement showed.
“There could be some positive sentiment towards these names,” Ruchir Desai, a fund manager at Asia Frontier Capital in Hong Kong said ahead of the review.
The additions mark a milestone for Vietnam after years as a frontier market, putting its equities in the same EM ranks as China, India and Indonesia. Investors will now be watching whether the upgrade can attract fresh foreign inflows after a prolonged stretch of overseas selling. — Bloomberg
