In its quarterly review of the FTSE Vietnam Index Series for December 2019, index compiler FTSE Russell has announced that Vietnam Electrical Equipment (HOSE: GEX) has been removed from the FTSE Vietnam Index.

According to Bao Viet Securities, GEX was removed from the FTSE Vietnam Index for violating liquidity criteria. The changes will be applied after the close of business on Friday 20th December 2019 and will be effective on Monday 23rd December 2019. GEX currently has a weighting of approximately 1.28% in the FTSE Vietnam Index.

There were also changes to the FTSE Vietnam All-Share Index. Viglacera, PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals JSC, and Coreccons Construction were all removed from the All-Share Index in the December 2019 review.

After the changes are applied, the number of constituents in the FTSE Vietnam Index and FTSE Vietnam All-Share Index will fall to 19 and 44 respectively. No new securities were added to either index in this review.

Vietnam is still on FTSE’s watch list for a potential upgrade to an Emerging Market. According to FTSE Russell, more work needs to be done in the areas of clearing & settlement, as well as improving registration of new accounts and tackling the foreign ownership limit for investors in Vietnamese companies. Despite the wait, it is still the largest constituent country in the FTSE Frontier 50 Index.