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 Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 9.1%; Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.7%; PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemical, 7.0%; Baoviet Holdings (finance and insurance), 6.5%; PetroVietnam Technical Services (oilfield services), 5.2%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 5.1%; Minor International (a Thailand-based firm with hotels and fast-food restaurants in Vietnam), 5.1%; Charoen Pokphand Foods (a Thailand-based food conglomerate), 4.6%; PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services (oilfield services), 4.6%; and Gamuda Bhd (a Malaysia-based construction group), 4.6%.
Market Vectors Vietnam ETF’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 37.5%; Energy, 23.1%; Industrials, 11.7%; Materials, 9.7%; Consumer Discretionary, 9.1%; Consumer Staples, 4.4%; and Utilities, 2.9%. Its expense ratio is 0.76%.
The ETF cuts its risk by investing part of its assets indirectly in Vietnam by purchasing shares of firms that are based outside the country but still do business there. That’s a better approach than adding thinly traded or illiquid shares of smaller Vietnamese companies.
Investing in Vietnam entails above-average 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.
