MUMBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - VanEck is looking at France,

Italy, Spain and the Nordics as potential growth regions for its

European exchange-traded fund (ETF) market to tap into

still-limited usage in these countries, the asset manager's

Europe chief executive said on Wednesday.

The New York-headquartered firm will continue to rely on the

more-established UK, Netherlands and German markets to underpin

growth in its ETF business in Europe, the firm's EU CEO Martijn

Rozemuller told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.

VanEck is a global investment manager that primarily issues

ETF products and manages more than $100 billion in assets

worldwide.

It plans to add two smaller-sized offices in London and

Milan this year to cater to these markets, Rozemuller said. It

currently has European offices in Frankfurt, Zurich and

Amsterdam.

The firm recently crossed $10 billion in assets managed

under European ETFs, Rozemuller said, adding that he was

optimistic for growth in defence and semiconductors, as well as

uranium and nuclear technology, along with a broader, more

diversified equity exposure.

Rozemuller said the ETF market in Europe is heavily

fragmented, and more difficult and expensive to do business in

compared to the United States, but this could change with the

formation of a capital markets union (CMU).

The European Securities and Markets Authority on Wednesday

called for fast-tracking a CMU - stalled for nearly a decade,

while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said

the union has to be completed in the next Commission, as this

one comes to the end of its five-year term.

Rozemuller said the market in Europe was made up of

different exchanges, with most countries requiring ETFs to be

listed locally, adding to regulatory and translation costs.

The CMU would be "a big step forward," he said.

Nevertheless, Europe's ETF market continues to grow, with

$1.91 trillion in assets at the end of April, according to data

from research and consultancy firm ETFGI, recording their 19th

month of inflows in April.

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