Two major foreign exchange-traded funds — VanEck of the U.S. and Fubon of Taiwan — now manage a combined $1.3 billion in Vietnamese equities, making them key barometers for foreign investor sentiment. Their contrasting strategies reflect different approaches to navigating Vietnam’s fast-evolving, retail-driven market.
VanEck, active since 2009, recently shifted its index to include only Vietnamese-listed stocks, signaling long-term confidence. Fubon, launched in 2021, remains Vietnam’s largest ETF, focusing on the FTSE Vietnam 30 Index. Both funds are positioning for potential gains if Vietnam is upgraded from a frontier to an emerging market — a milestone they say could unlock a new wave of global capital.
This article is a condensed and translated summary (original in Vietnamese, VN) of a feature published in the March 2024 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek Vietnam.