How do foreign organizations evaluate the Vietnamese market as it approaches an upgrade?

VTV.vn - Being upgraded to emerging market status will have many important implications for Vietnam's stock market and capital market.

In addition to the meanings such as helping to improve the national image, restructuring the stock market and capital market of Vietnam, the completion of the upgrading criteria will help to strongly attract foreign investment capital with reasonable costs and sustainable capital, creating resources for the country's economic development to enter a new era. In recent times, the Government, the Ministry of Finance , and the State Securities Commission have made efforts to remove each policy and technological bottleneck to expand access opportunities to the Vietnamese stock market for foreign investors.

Discussing this issue in the Talk show The Finance Street on VTV8 , Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Vietnam Securities Joint Stock Company (MAS) said that with the strong reform efforts of the management agency to open the door for international capital flows into the Vietnamese stock market, large and professional foreign investment organizations have highly appreciated and expressed confidence in the development of the stock market and capital market of Vietnam as well as have plans to increase investment in the Vietnamese market in the coming time.

Editor Khanh Ly: After many years of efforts, the Vietnamese stock market is finally close to being upgraded by FTSE. What is your assessment of this?

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Vietnam Securities Joint Stock Company (MAS): The time to announce the results of the stock market upgrade assessment is very close. FTSE will announce the assessment for two countries, Greece and Vietnam. For me, this is a very special milestone, affirming that Vietnam's reforms over the past 25 years have brought clear and positive results. The go-live of the KRX system on May 5, 2025, along with the removal of pre-funding requirements for foreign institutional investors, the roadmap for implementing OTA (Omnibus trading account) and CCP (Central Clearing Counterparty) accounts have resolved the "bottlenecks" that FTSE had pointed out. The upgrade is not only a change in classification label, but also an international recognition of the transparency, operational capacity and attractiveness of Vietnam's capital market.

In terms of national status, this is a step to elevate the brand of Vietnam's financial market, in line with the economic growth in recent years. This helps us connect more strongly with global capital flows.

Editor Khanh Ly: As one of the members of a large Korean financial institution, and having invested in the Vietnamese market for nearly two decades, can you share more about how the Vietnamese stock market is currently in the eyes of foreign investors?

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Securities Vietnam JSC (MAS): In the short term, the Vietnamese stock market is under strong net selling pressure from foreign investors due to a number of reasons, the most obvious being the uncertain tariff policy from the US, which is creating many risks for business operations, especially for export enterprises. Second, the process of reducing interest rates in the US is slower than expected, causing investment capital to continue to prioritize returning to the US market, because the USD still maintains relative strength. Third, international investment funds remain cautious while waiting for official information on upgrading the Vietnamese market.

However, Vietnam is still considered one of the most attractive destinations in Asia thanks to its stable macroeconomic foundation and high growth potential. In 2025, international organizations forecast Vietnam's GDP growth to reach 6.3% - 6.8%, and in reality it could even exceed 8%, higher than most countries in the Southeast Asian region. This has partly reflected in the stock market, when the VN Index increased sharply in the third quarter with a sharp increase in liquidity, with some sessions averaging more than 2 billion USD per session.

In terms of valuation, the P/E of VN Index is currently below 16 times, which is considered relatively reasonable compared to the general level of countries in the region such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand. Expected profit growth of listed companies is forecast to remain at double digits in 2025 and 2026, thanks to strong economic growth momentum, making market valuation more attractive.

According to Mirae Asset's assessment, the current capitalization of the VN Index is about 250 billion USD (end of August 2025) - a level equivalent to some countries that are allocated a low proportion in the FTSE Emerging portfolio. If Vietnam is officially added to this index basket, the expected passive capital flow could reach about 600 million USD from ETF funds, not to mention cash flow from active funds, with the investment level possibly being much larger.

Editor Khanh Ly: The stock market has also had positive growth and liquidity has increased strongly in the context of approaching the upgrade. And up to now, there are also many questions about what the market will be like after the upgrade, according to your forecast?

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Securities Vietnam JSC (MAS): Experience from international markets such as Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China or Romania shows that the index often increases sharply before and around the time of the upgrade announcement, then enters a technical adjustment phase and from then on, the fundamental story of the new economy is the decisive factor in the possibility of the next breakthrough. The common point of these markets is that liquidity has improved significantly, in many cases increasing from a few dozen percent to more than 100%. For Vietnam, if it continues to enter the MSCI Emerging category, the increase in liquidity will be even greater.

International factors are also supporting as the FED has started its interest rate cut cycle, expected to cut two more times in 2025, creating a strong push for capital flows to emerging markets like Vietnam. At the same time, with a GDP target exceeding 8% and the prospect of corporate profits increasing by double digits on average in the third and fourth quarters, Vietnam's market valuation will become more attractive in the eyes of global investors.

Typically, active funds will disburse early through P-notes as soon as the upgrade scenario is clear, while passive funds will closely follow the FTSE restructuring schedule and allocate capital in multiple tranches within 6–12 months, focusing on the restructuring periods of March, June and September 2026.

Vietnam is in a favorable position with both the motivation to upgrade and a stable macro foundation, benefiting from the shift in global supply chains. I believe that after the euphoria, the Vietnamese market will maintain its growth momentum thanks to solid fundamentals.

Editor Khanh Ly: So in your opinion, in the coming period, management agencies and market members will need to continue to make changes to adapt to the new stage of a stock market and a capital market?

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Vietnam Securities Joint Stock Company (MAS): The Government approved the Upgrade Project in September 2025 with a clear roadmap to strive to bring Vietnam into the group of secondary emerging markets in 2025, towards achieving MSCI Emerging and high-level emerging market standards by 2030. To realize these goals, synchronous and drastic coordination is needed in each stage. In the immediate future, removing barriers to advance payment, implementing general trading accounts and making foreign ownership information transparent will help create a fairer environment for foreign investors. Promoting investor relations in English, organizing regular meetings with foreign funds and publishing annual reports according to IFRS standards will help businesses access global capital flows more effectively.

As the market is upgraded, in addition to ETF and active fund capital flows, another important driving force is the IPO wave. Recent changes such as Decree 245, which shortens the time from listing approval to official trading to 30 days, or allows the parallel implementation of IPO and listing registration procedures, have made the process seamless, limiting risks and maintaining the "heat" with investors. This not only reduces the opportunity cost of capital for businesses but also creates transparent liquidity immediately after the IPO, instead of generating off-the-record transactions.

In addition, the market also needs to increase many new quality products to attract global investors. Legal problems related to the listing of FDI companies also need to be resolved and implemented soon. Promoting FDI listing will help expand the scale and increase the attractiveness of the market.

On the securities company side, the task is to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the large trading volume, develop new products, improve the quality of analysis and valuation according to international standards, build a bilingual reporting system, train a team of staff with global standards and expand international cooperation. Only when all elements operate in harmony can the Vietnamese market take full advantage of the opportunities that the upgrade brings.

Editor Khanh Ly: As a large financial group that has been investing in the Vietnamese market, what strategies will you have in the coming period to contribute to promoting the development of the Vietnamese stock market and capital market in the new era?

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Mirae Asset Vietnam Securities Joint Stock Company (MAS): Mirae Asset's investment in Vietnam took place nearly two decades ago, so the upgrade is just a catalyst, while our long-term orientation is still to accompany the sustainable development of the market. At the Group scale, we will include Vietnam in the EM index allocation portfolio, coordinate the launch of ETFs related to Vietnam, take advantage of the global network to connect capital flows, expand cooperation with custodian banks, market makers and international exchanges.

We will continue to standardize the system according to international standards, diversifying from ETFs, warrants, bonds, to personalizing Wealth Management services. At the same time, we will advise Vietnamese enterprises to improve IR standards, transparency in reporting, to be ready to participate more deeply in emerging capital flows. Mirae Asset has a strong goal of being a bridge connecting global capital flows with Vietnam, where foreign investors find opportunities and Vietnamese enterprises find resources, as well as domestic investors find peace of mind when investing with us.

Editor Khanh Ly: Thank you for the information just now.

Source: https://vtv.vn/to-chuc-nuoc-ngoai-danh-gia-the-nao-khi-thi-truong-viet-nam-tien-gan-den-nang-hang-100251007103635897.htm