Vietnam waits for major upgrade to its $200 billion stock market
The Vietnamese flag flies atop the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Maika Elan | Bloomberg | Getty Images Vietnam’s long wait for emerging market status could soon be over. The Southeast Asian nation is currently classified as a frontier market and has been on the FTSE emerging market watchlist since 2018. Global index provider FTSE Russell confirmed earlier this month that it has retained the country on its watchlist. The agency highlighted the Vietnamese government’s support for market reforms and recommended more meetings between both local authorities and foreign investors. An upgrade to emerging market status could see global funds pouring billions into Vietnam’s financial market which currently has a market value just north of $200 billion. Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” before the confirmation, Maybank Investment Bank Vietnam’s Head of Equity Research Thanh Quan Trong said that the FTSE upgrade for Vietnam to emerging market st