Greece, Puerto Rico and mainland Chinese stocks entering bear market were among the catalyst plaguing U.S. and international stocks. The S&P 500 lost more than 2% as did some major developed and emerging markets benchmarks, through it all, a surprising ETF stood firm.
The Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (NYSEArca: VNM) was able to muster a gain of 1.4% Monday on nearly double the average daily volume after the government there finally eased restrictions on foreign ownership of Vietnamese stocks in certain sectors.
“Overseas investors can increase holdings in “a number” of industries to 100 percent from 49 percent effective in September, according to a government decree published late Friday. Other companies will keep their 49 percent limits, while holdings in sectors that are governed by separate ownership regulations such as banks will remain at 30 percent, according to the decree,” reports Giang Nguyen for Bloomberg.
The $494 million VNM, the only dedicated Vietnam ETF, allocates 41.2% of its weight to the financial services sector, nearly two and a half times its weight to energy stocks. Vietnam’s energy sector is also littered with state-controlled firms.
Fund managers expect the lifting of foreign ownership limits in Vietnam to help propel consumer stocks, which could be a boon for VNM because the ETF devotes a combined 27.1% of its weight to consumer staples and discretionary names. [Vietnam ETF Tries to Ward off Another Slump]
As Bloomberg reports, Vietnam is lifting foreign ownership limits because it is angling for a coveted but rare promotion to emerging markets status from the frontier markets classification from index provider MSCI.
Last year, Vietnam formed a commission to explore taking the necessary steps for the country to shed its frontier status and gain entry into the widely followed MSCI Emerging Markets Index.MSCI does not have Vietnam on its list of markets that could potentially be upgraded to emerging markets status. When the index provider recently revealed its annual market classification, Pakistan was the only frontier market highlighted as being a potential candidate for promotion to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. [Vietnam Wants EM Promotion]
Vietnam is currently the ninth-largest country weight in the iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSEArca: FM) at 3.24%. Vietnam’s equity market is valued at $58 billion, or $21 billion less than the market cap of Dow component American Express (NYSE: AXP). Investors have allocated $54.3 million to VNM in the current quarter and $57.5 million this year.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF
