In the early morning of October 8, Vietnam time (after the US stock market closed on October 7), FTSE Russell announced the National Classification Report of FTSE Stock in September 2025. Accordingly, the Vietnamese market was officially upgraded from the Border Market to the Sub-level New Emerging Market.
FTSE Russell said that Vietnam is classified as a Forelier market and has been included in the Monitoring List since September 2018 to consider upgrading to a Secondary Emerging market.
When included in the Monitoring List, Vietnam did not meet two criteria: " Payment cycle (DvP)" and " Meeting - Cost of failed transaction processing", both of which were assessed as "Restricted".
By November 2024, the Vietnam Stock Market Management Agency had implemented a non-pre-deposit trading model ( Non-Prefunding), allowing domestic securities companies to ensure the necessary capital to support foreign institutional investors in executing securities purchase orders. This has officially eliminated the requirement for a deposit for foreign institutional investors. In addition, an official process for handling failed transactions has also been established.
The FTSE Russell Index Board (IGB) acknowledged the achievements that Vietnam's market regulatory agency has achieved in the process of market development, and confirmed that Vietnam has currently met all the criteria to be classified as a Secondary emerging market according to the FTSE Equity Country Classification Framework.
The IGB Council has carefully reviewed the feedback from FTSE Russell Advisory Committees regarding the limitations on the role of global securities companies (global brokers) in trading activities in Vietnam. Although using a global securities company as a single partner is not a mandatory condition for being upgraded to the Secondary Newspaper market, IGB sees that index investors need to be able to impersonate the index according to the second principle in the Statement of Principles.
Considering the importance of the above issue for index investors, IGB determined that solving the problem of the role of global securities companies in trading activities is necessary for the upgrading process to be implemented.
FTSE Russell acknowledges the current efforts of the Vietnam Stock Market Regulatory Authority in building a model allowing foreign institutional investors to trade through partners who are global securities companies. This effort is expected to bring the Vietnamese market closer to international standards, reduce partner risks and enhance investor confidence through establishing relationships with reputable intermediaries.
The IGB Council confirmed and respectfully announced the decision to upgrade Vietnam from the Border Guard market to the Secondary New Floating market, with the effective date expected to be Monday, September 21, 2026, along with the mid-term review taking place in March 2026.
This schedule is proposed to assess the progress in expanding the role of global securities companies - an important factor in simulating the index and meeting the needs of the international investment community. The upgrading of the Vietnamese market to the Secondary New Floating Market is expected to be implemented in stages.
FTSE Russell will continue to closely monitor market developments, and encourage stakeholders to contribute opinions before the mid-March 2026 review to ensure the upgrading process is carried out as planned in September 2026. Details of the implementation plan in stages will be announced in the announcement in March 2026 after consulting with FTSE Russell Advisory Committees and market members.
