Van Eck Plans Indonesia Small-Cap ETF

Van Eck, the sixth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce the Market Vectors Indonesia Small-Cap ETF. The filing did not disclose a ticker or expense ratio for the new fund. Van Eck's Market Vectors unit is no stranger to the Indonesia-specific ETFs as the firm was first to market with a fund devoted exclusively to the rapidly growing Southeast Asian economy. The Market Vectors Indonesia ETF IDX made its debut in January 2009 and has accumulated almost $700 million in assets under management. Highlighting the popularity of the Indonesia investment thesis, the iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund EIDO made its debut in May 2010 and has garnered more than $267 million in AUM. The new Market Vectors ETF will track the Market Vectors Small-Cap Indonesia Index. To be included in the index, a company must be Indonesia-based, listed in Jakarta or earn 50% or more of its revenue in Indonesia. The new Market Vectors offering also faces potential competition in the form of another ETF that has yet to come to market. Earlier this year, Index IQ, the New York-based ETF issuer that has made a name for itself with small-cap country-specific ETFs, filed plans for the IQ Indonesia Small Cap ETF INNN. Market Vectors currently has 36 ETFs trading, including 26 equity-based funds. The firm has found success with small-cap offerings such as the Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF BRF, the Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap ETF RSXJ and the Market Vectors India Small-Cap ETF SCIF. Van Eck had nearly $25.6 billion in AUM at the end of August, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.