Vietnam Exchange holds talks with FTSE Russell on market status upgrade roadmap

Vietnam Exchange (VNX) on Thursday held discussions with FTSE Russell on strengthening long-term strategic cooperation and supporting the country's roadmap to upgrade its equity market status in line with global standards.

At the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Hanoi, Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi met with a FTSE Russell delegation led by CEO Fiona Bassett.

Vietnamese participants included Luong Hai Sinh, chairman of the Vietnam Exchange (VNX); Le Xuan Hai, VNX CEO and board member; Trinh Son Hong, acting chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE); and Do Duc Manh, deputy CEO of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

The FTSE Russell delegation was headed by Bassett, who also serves as chair of the Index Industry Association, and included senior executives and experts overseeing index policy, product management, derivatives, and Asia-Pacific market development. Their presence underscored FTSE Russell’s strong interest in and long-term commitment to Vietnam’s capital market.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views and reviewed developments in Vietnam’s securities market in 2025, focusing on market capitalization, index performance, and the growth of the equity, bond and derivatives markets, as well as the expansion of the investor base.

VNX leaders highlighted progress made in market reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and efforts to enhance transparency in line with international best practices.

The discussions also reviewed the implementation progress of cooperation items under a previously signed memorandum of understanding, with a focus on coordination principles for index development, governance mechanisms, and commercialization strategies.

The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both VNX and FTSE Russell to deepen long-term strategic cooperation, support the sustainable development of Vietnam’s stock market, enhance its standing in regional and global financial markets, and facilitate the country’s market status upgrade process in accordance with international benchmarks.

Vietnam's stock market will be reclassified from "frontier" to "secondary emerging" from September 21 this year, subject to an interim review in March 2026, FTSE Russell stated in a release on October 7, 2025.

The interim review in March 2026 aims "to determine whether sufficient progress has been made in enabling access to global brokers, which is essential to support index replication and meet the needs of the international investment community."