Stock market thrives, expectations soar for “emerging market” statusVietNamNet Bridge - The VN Index has been increasing sharply since the beginning of the year with capital flowing to finance and banking, real estate, and shares with a high capitalization value. The VN Index has been increasing since the beginning of the yearWith the sharp price increases in 2017 and the strong rise this year, coupled with lifting of the foreign ownership ceiling and state’s divestment from state-owned enterprises, Vietnam now can satisfy requirements in market scale and liquidity. However, some believe that this may happen sooner, possibly in the assessment period in June 2018.Meanwhile, a local newspaper quoted Vo Tri Thanh from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) as saying that Vietnam’s stock market has a 25 percent chance of being upgraded to the “emerging market” status by 2021.Reports show that the VN Index has increased by 15.2 percent so far this year, while the VN 30 Index has increased by 14.1 percent, of which 28.2 percent increase has been reported for bank shares, 21.7 percent for real estate and 19.3 percent for finance services.It is still unclear when Vietnam will be upgraded to an emerging market. However, the price increase of shares with big capitalization values (banking, securities, insurance and real estate) which would help increase Vietnam’s proportion in the MSCI index after the upgrade.Analysts estimate that Vietnam stock market may obtain a 30-40 percent growth rate after the upgrade, which happened with the Arab Emirates, Qatar and Pakistan. RELATED NEWSHow will the Vietnam economy be in 2018?