Dairy producer Vinamilk's cattle farm in Lam Dong Province. The company shares accounted for 3.05 per cent of the MSCI Frontier Markets Index at the end of August. — Photo vinamilk.com.vn

Vietnamese shares still accounted for 17.19 per cent of the MSCI Frontier Markets Index at the end of August, according to the US finance firm MSCI.

Compared to the end of July, the weight of Vietnamese shares in the frontier markets index remained unchanged but fell 1.06 per cent from the end of May.

Kuwait shares still accounted for the largest proportion in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index with a weight of 36.55 per cent.

In the August review, MSCI made “no additions to and no deletions from the MSCI Frontier Markets Index,” the company said in the statement.

There is a possibility the weight of Vietnamese shares will increase in November after Kuwait gets upgraded to emerging market status.

MSCI on June 23 announced Kuwait will get an upgrade to emerging market status from frontier market status. The re-classification will be completed in November.

According to MSCI, Vietnamese shares may account for 25.2 per cent of the total in the frontier markets index and the US finance firm may increase the number of Vietnamese investees to 16.

There are currently 89 investees in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index. Among the top 10 constituents are industrials-technology-retail conglomerate Vingroup (VIC), high-end residential realty firm Vinhomes (VHM) and dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM).

The three Vietnamese firms’ shares accounted for 3.14 per cent, 2.67 per cent and 3.05 per cent of the index, respectively.

MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index

Vietnamese shares’ weight in the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index slid 1.27 per cent to 12.18 per cent in the three-month period ending August.

Similarly, the weight of Vietnamese shares in the index is also expected to increase to 30 per cent after Kuwait is lifted to emerging market status in November.

Outstanding investment funds tracking the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index include iShare MSCI Frontier 100 ETF with total value of US$376 million on September 4.

Vietnamese shares occupy more than 12 per cent of the investee stocks in the iShare MSCI Frontier 100 ETF, worth $46 million, and no Vietnamese stock is among the top 10 constituents. — VNS