Korea Investment Trust Management Lists ETF in Vietnam... Full-Scale Local Market Entry

Yoon Hang-jin, Head of Vietnam Branch at Korea Investment Trust Management (center), and officials are taking a commemorative photo at the listing ceremony of the 'KIM VN30 ETF' held on the 7th at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange in Vietnam.

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Korea Investment Management's Vietnam branch (KIM VIETNAM FUND MANAGEMENT) listed the KIM VN30 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in Vietnam on the 10th.

This ETF is the first product launched since Korea Investment Management's Vietnam branch was established in June 2020. It is a passive ETF that tracks the VN30 index, which consists of 30 large-cap stocks listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. Designed to absorb investment demand in the Vietnamese market from global institutions, individual investors, and Vietnamese retail investors, it has an annual total fee of 0.55%, the lowest among domestic and foreign ETFs investing in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese stock market is especially hot with retail investor enthusiasm. According to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), the proportion of trading volume by individual investors in the Vietnamese stock market increased from about 70% in early 2019 to approximately 85% last year. The number of newly opened stock accounts last year was about 1.35 million (as of the end of November), exceeding the total number of accounts opened in the previous three years combined.

As the market rapidly grows, demand for passive products is also increasing. According to the Vietnamese SSC, as of the end of October, the domestic fund market in Vietnam is about 3.7 billion USD in net assets. Among these, ETFs account for about 1.3 billion USD, representing 35%. In terms of the number of funds, 8 out of 62 funds registered with the SSC are ETFs. Although the market size is still relatively small, Korea Investment Management believes there is significant growth potential centered on ETFs in the future.

Currently, the assets under management of Korea Investment Management's Vietnam branch amount to approximately 1.1962 trillion KRW (based on net assets as of December 31), ranking among the top global public and discretionary fund managers investing in Vietnam.

Yoon Hangjin, head of Korea Investment Management's Vietnam branch, said, "Having established a strong position in the Vietnamese domestic fund market, Korea Investment Management's Vietnam branch aims to meet the investment demand of global investors in Vietnam based on its strong brand competitiveness," adding, "Starting with the KIM VN30 ETF, we will provide various Vietnam investment products to domestic and foreign investors and establish ourselves as the leading asset manager in Vietnam."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.