There seems to be great interest in a Vietnam exchange traded fund (ETF), if the search engines are any indication. Week after week, "Vietnam" turns up as one of our top ten search words.
Market Vectors has gotten in line to meet the demand, it seems. Last week, the ETF provider filed for five new ETFs with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and one of them includes a Vietnam fund, reports the Euromoney Institutional Investor Online Network. The fund will seek to replicate the Vietnam index, which is made up of companies with market capitalizations greater than $200 million. Most of the companies in the fund are headquartered in Vietnam, or generate a majority of their revenue there.
Vietnam has been experiencing steady growth in recent times, although there has been a surge in inflation. But for the last three years, the economy has grown by more than 8%, reports Duncan Currie for the Daily Standard. Economic reforms were put in place in 1986, and since then, millions of the country’s inhabitants have emerged from poverty. The country also has a wealth of natural resources, including coal and offshore oil and gas deposits – that’s pure gold in these days of high energy prices.
The other ETF filings include:
- Market Vectors Global Frontier: Tracks the Global Frontier Index, which holds companies with market caps greater than $100 million.
- Market Vectors Gulf States: Tracks the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) Index, which comprises companies with market caps greater than $100 million.
- Market Vectors Africa: Tracks the Africa Index which holds companies with market caps of more than $200 million. The companies are either headquartered there or make most of their revenue on the continent.
- Market Vectors Emerging Europe: Tracks the Emerging Europe & Commonwealth of Independent States (EE & CIS). The companies have a market cap of greater than $1090 million, and among the countries that will be seen in the funds are Kazakhstan, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.