Vietnam has issued regulatory guidelines for money market investment funds and infrastructure bond funds, and tightened oversight of all funds as the Southeast Asian nation prepares to be upgraded to an emerging market.
UK index provider FTSE Russell announced two months ago that Vietnam will be reclassified from frontier to emerging market in October 2026.
Money market investment funds will have to invest at least 80% of their assets in safe instruments such as deposits, certificates of deposits and government debt, Vietnam’s finance ministry says in a circular on January 2. And 65% of the assets of infrastructure bond funds must be allocated to infrastructure project bonds.
Meanwhile, open-ended funds will be required to maintain liquidity reserves to help manage redemption pressures during periods of market stress so as to reduce the risk of forced sales and to protect remaining investors.
The circular also says all fund promotions will have to include clearer risk warnings and cannot imply guaranteed returns or government backing.
The new rules will take effect next month.
