On August 21, 2026, FTSE Russell announced the results of the September 2026 semi-annual review of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (FTSE GEIS), marking an important milestone ahead of Vietnam’s transition from Frontier Market to Secondary Emerging Market status. The reclassification represents a significant step forward for Vietnam’s capital market following a series of structural reforms aimed at enhancing market accessibility for international institutional investors, including improvements to settlement mechanisms and the removal of pre-funding requirements for foreign institutional investors.
Following the market upgrade, Vietnamese equities will become eligible for inclusion in the FTSE GEIS, one of the world’s most widely followed global equity index frameworks and a key benchmark for international asset managers, index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The FTSE GEIS universe is segmented by market capitalization: the FTSE All-World Index comprises Large- and Mid-Cap stocks; the FTSE Global All Cap Index expands the coverage to include Small-Cap stocks; while the FTSE Global Total Cap Index provides broader exposure by incorporating Large-, Mid-, Small- and Micro-Cap securities, representing more than 99% of the global investable equity universe.
FTSE Russell’s constituent selection process is not based solely on headline market capitalization. Eligible securities are assessed against a comprehensive set of investability criteria, including full and investable market capitalization, free float, liquidity, foreign ownership restrictions and overall accessibility to international investors. Following the establishment of the eligible investment universe, securities are subsequently classified into Large-, Mid-, Small- and Micro-Cap segments based on the applicable FTSE Russell size thresholds.
Under the latest review, 27 Vietnamese stocks were included in the FTSE Global All Cap Index, comprising three Large-Cap, three Mid-Cap and 21 Small-Cap constituents. In addition, 90 Vietnamese stocks were added to the Micro-Cap segment, bringing the total number of Vietnamese securities represented in the FTSE Global Total Cap Index to 117.
Notably, shares of BAF Vietnam Agriculture Joint Stock Company (HOSE: BAF) were selected for inclusion in the Micro-Cap segment, thereby becoming constituents of the FTSE Global Micro Cap Index and the broader FTSE Global Total Cap Index.
From an investor relations perspective, BAF’s inclusion in the FTSE GEIS universe carries significance beyond potential near-term trading flows. It represents an important step in increasing BAF’s visibility within the global institutional investment community, particularly among international investors that use FTSE Russell indices as benchmarks or as part of their investment screening universe. The inclusion could consequently broaden BAF’s prospective investor base while further reinforcing the importance of market liquidity, free float, transparency, corporate governance and international-standard investor relations practices.
Looking ahead, Vietnam’s integration into the FTSE GEIS framework is expected to be implemented through a four-tranche transition, with 10%, 20%, 35% and 35% of the relevant index weight incorporated in September 2026, March 2027, June 2027 and September 2027, respectively. Market estimates suggest that Vietnam’s upgrade could potentially attract approximately USD 1.3–1.5 billion of passive investment flows, primarily from ETFs and index-tracking funds benchmarked against FTSE emerging-market and global equity indices.
For BAF specifically, as the Company is currently classified within the Micro-Cap segment, direct passive inflows are expected to be more modest than those allocated to Vietnamese Large-, Mid- and Small-Cap constituents, and there is currently no sufficiently reliable official estimate of index-related buying specifically attributable to BAF. Nevertheless, inclusion in the FTSE Global Total Cap Index represents a meaningful milestone in BAF’s capital-market development journey.
Beyond potential passive inflows, the inclusion may also enhance BAF’s visibility among active international fund managers that use FTSE GEIS as their benchmark or investable universe. Over the medium to long term, continued improvements in market capitalization, liquidity and free float could provide BAF with an opportunity to progress into higher market-capitalization segments in future FTSE Russell reviews, thereby further expanding the Company’s access to international institutional capital.