On April 8, 2026 (at 3:00 a.m. Ha Noi time), FTSE Russell announced the results of its interim review as part of the March 2026 market classification assessment.
The announcement by FTSE Russell acknowledged important progress made by Viet Nam’s stock market, particularly regarding market access through global brokerage firms; at the same time, it officially confirmed maintaining the previously announced roadmap (in October 2025) to upgrade Viet Nam from frontier market to secondary emerging market.
According to FTSE Russell, the issuance of Circular No. 08/2026/TT-BTC has formally established a legal framework ensuring foreign investors’ access to Viet Nam’s stock market via global brokerage firms, while also improving regulations related to the non-prefunding mechanism. Regulatory authorities, domestic securities firms, global brokerage firms, custodian banks, and international institutional investors have agreed on the implementation model under these new mechanisms.
On that basis, the Index Governance Board of FTSE Russell confirmed the upgrade roadmap from Frontier Market to Secondary Emerging Market. The allocation of Vietnamese equities into FTSE’s index series will officially begin from Monday, September 21, 2026.
To ensure a stable transition aligned with market conditions and to facilitate investors, the inclusion of Vietnamese equities into FTSE Russell’s global indices will be carried out in phases in accordance with the organisation’s standard practices, starting from September 2026 and to be completed by September 2027.
The timely implementation of the upgrade roadmap reflects the close direction of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Finance; the strong coordination among relevant ministries and agencies; and the joint efforts of stock exchanges, other company, market participants and international organisations.
The upgrade to secondary emerging market represents a significant milestone, affirming the development and global recognition of Viet Nam’s stock market, contributing to attracting large-scale international capital inflows, enhancing liquidity, and strengthening Viet Nam’s position within the global financial system.
