At the conference "Vietnam Officially Joins the Global Index Basket – FTSE Russell Global Equity Index Series" (FTSE GEIS), that will take place in Hanoi on September 18, a gong ceremony marking Vietnam's official entry into the FTSE GEIS emerging market index will be held.
The conference will be organized by the State Securities Commission under the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with FTSE Russell.
The event occurs at a particularly significant time for Vietnam's stock market, just before its upgrade from a frontier market to a secondary emerging market according to FTSE Russell's classification, which officially takes effect on September 21, 2026.
The upgrade will be announced at the conference, which also serves as a forum for regulatory agencies, international organizations, financial institutions, and the investment community to discuss the achievements, significance of the upgrade, development directions, and solutions for the next phase.
Market Upgrade – Elevating Enterprises
September 21, 2026, will mark a once-in-a-lifetime event that Vietnam officially joins the index system of one of the two largest emerging market index providers in the world. However, as the low level of foreign ownership indicates, the event itself does not change the behavior of international capital flows. What truly determines whether a Vietnamese enterprise is selected and retained by active funds for many years lies in three filters not found in any index rules: whether the enterprise is the type of asset that a specific fund is seeking; whether the enterprise is better than alternative options in the region; and whether the enterprise is trustworthy enough in governance to be held long-term.
At the conference, leaders from the Ministry of Finance, the State Securities Commission, FTSE Russell, the World Bank, and international financial organizations will share about the process of reform, legal framework improvement, market infrastructure upgrades, investor accessibility improvements, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing Vietnam's stock market after the upgrade.
Building on the achieved results, Vietnam will continue to enhance the quality of goods, services, and infrastructure capacity; strengthen the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the market; increase dialogue with the investment community; and proactively prepare the necessary conditions to aim for higher upgrade goals, in line with the stock market development orientation until 2030.
The conference demonstrates Vietnam's determination to develop a professional, deeply integrated stock market and effectively leverage its role as a medium and long-term capital mobilization channel for the economy, thus contributing to rapid and sustainable growth goals.
Regarding the upgrade results, previously, in the evaluation periods of September 2025 and March 2026, FTSE Russell announced and confirmed the roadmap for upgrading Vietnam's stock market from a frontier market to a secondary emerging market, effective from September 21, 2026.
This is an important milestone, reflecting the recognition of the international rating organization for the reform process, institutional improvement, and operational capacity enhancement of Vietnam's stock market in recent times.
The upgrade opens up opportunities to attract more international investment capital, especially from active and passive funds tracking emerging market indices. At the same time, it serves as a motivation for Vietnam's stock market to continue enhancing transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness, thereby contributing to the development of a safe, healthy, and sustainable capital market.
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