Citi and FTSE launch first Vietnam equity index

US bank Citi and index provider FTSE Group today launched the FTSE Vietnam Accessible Index (VAI), the first Vietnam equity index for foreign institutional investors.

Citi will create an index tracker and other equity linked products structured on the index, to enable foreign investors access to one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia Pacific region.

The FTSE VAI Series includes the top 80% of the stocks listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center, based on full market capitalisation, and includes only those shares available to international investors.

The index is free-float-adjusted and liquidity-screened using FTSE methodology.

It classifies stocks according to the Industry Classification Benchmark, a classification system developed by FTSE Group and Dow Jones Indexes, giving investors the choice to further diversify their Vietnam portfolio by sector.

Justin Kennedy, managing director of Citigroup Global Markets Asia, said: “We have had enormous investor demand for a Vietnam benchmark that is liquid and that reflects the restrictions on foreign investment. The index we have created with FTSE is the first to meet both objectives.”