Vietnam to be reclassified from frontier to secondary emerging market status

This is to determine whether sufficient progress has been made in enabling access to global brokers, which is essential to support index replication and meet the needs of the international investment community. FTSE Russell recognised the progress made by the Vietnamese market authorities in evolving its market by removing the prefunding requirement for foreign institutional investors with the implementation of a non-refunding model and establishing a formal process for handling failed trades.

FTSE Russell acknowledged that Vietnam has met all the criteria of the secondary emerging market status under the FTSE Equity Country Classification Framework. FTSE Russell will continue to monitor developments closely and welcome feedback from index stakeholders to enable the reclassification to proceed as planned in September 2026.

Nguyen Van Thang, Minister of Finance said, "Over the past two years, under the leadership of the government and PM, and with the close guidance of the Ministry of Finance, the State Securities Commission has implemented a comprehensive reform programme to align Vietnam's securities market with the highest international standards. The official recognition and upgrade of Vietnam's securities market is clear evidence of the country's sound development path and its growing capacity to integrate deeply into the global financial system."

"The Ministry of Finance remains committed to advancing deeper and broader reforms, maximising accessibility for both domestic and international investors, while accelerating the modernisation and digitalisation of its market infrastructure – with the objective of establishing an increasingly transparent and efficient market," Thang noted.

David Sol, global head of policy at FTSE Russell, said, "FTSE Russell congratulates the Vietnamese market authorities on the significant progress made in aligning with international standards. The reclassification of Vietnam reflects the implementation of key market infrastructure enhancements, and we look forward to continued collaboration to ensure sustained progress ahead of the target reclassification date in September 2026."

Vietnam is on the cusp of a major financial milestone, with the FTSE expected to upgrade the country to “emerging market” status in 2025.

Vietnam's emergence as ASEAN's most dynamic equity market, underpinned by strong economic growth and surging liquidity, will be in the spotlight at the London Stock Exchange this month when international investors gather for a landmark conference.

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang had a meeting with representatives of FTSE Russell on July 17 to discuss and assess Vietnam's capital markets for a potential reclassification.