After 12 years of operation, BlackRock’s $400 million iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF will close by May 2025, gradually selling its holdings — including a portfolio once nearly 30 percent invested in Vietnamese equities.
Since the closure announcement, the fund has cut its Vietnam exposure from 28 percent to about 13.8 percent. Analysts say the move reflects global restructuring and liquidity challenges across frontier markets rather than problems specific to Vietnam. With Vietnam’s stock market valued above $200 billion and supported by strong domestic investors, the impact is expected to be limited.
This article is a condensed and translated summary (original in Vietnamese, VN) of a feature published in the July 2024 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek Vietnam.
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