MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $18.84 (New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holds shares of Vietnamese companies or foreign firms that get a significant amount of their revenue from Vietnam.
The ETF’s top holdings are Masan Group (food, resources and banking conglomerate), 8.7%; Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.9%; Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 7.6%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 6.8%; Gamuda Bhd (a Malaysia-based construction group), 5.3%; Minor International (a Thailand- based firm with hotels and fast-food restaurants in Vietnam), 5.2%; and PetroVietnam Technical Services (oil field services), 4.8%.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 37.6%; Energy, 16.1%; Consumer Staples, 13.3%; Industrials, 11.6%; Consumer Discretionary, 10.6%; Materials, 4.3%; and Utilities, 3.3%. Its expense ratio is 0.76%.
The ETF cuts its risk by investing part of its assets in firms that are based outside Vietnam but still do business there. That’s a better approach than adding thinly traded or illiquid shares of smaller Vietnamese companies.
Investing in Vietnam continues to entail aboveaverage political risk. Still, the long-term outlook for the country’s economy is positive. Vietnam is also making steady progress on political and economic reforms.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF is a buy for aggressive investors.
