Vietnam Enterprise Investments Ltd hails strong outperformance for

On Jan 15, 2022

Vietnam has made great strides in catching up with its vaccination campaign, with more than 90% of the adult population double-vaccinated at the end of December

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (LSE:VEIL) Ltd hailed a strong outperformance for 2021, in spite of a decrease in net asset value (NAV) in December.

As of 31 December 2021, the NAV fell 1.7% over the previous month, compared with an increase of 1.1% for the Vietnam Index.

For 2021, the investment trust’s NAV increased 47.1% to US$2.6bn. In comparison, the Vietnam Index increased 39.0%, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dampened the country’s economic growth to 2.6% in gross domestic product terms.

Vietnam Enterprise’s market performance was one of the best returns in Asia in 2021 and the country also experienced significant progress in the development of its financial market, said Dien Huu Vu, portfolio manager of VEIL.

He noted that there are now 63 companies with a market capitalization in excess of US$1bn, while US1bn daily turnover is a “new normal” on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, with levels often much higher, including a daily average of US$1.4bn in December.

“This is above many peers classified as emerging markets,” Dien said.

Vietnam has made great strides in catching up with its vaccination campaign, with more than 90% of the adult population double-vaccinated at the end of December, with nearly 56% of children aged 12-17 years old also double-vaccinated.

As many as two million doses per day are now being administered, with some parts of the country currently receiving booster shots, the fund noted.

“With the majority of the population now vaccinated against Covid-19 and treatment drugs being licenced for manufacturing and distribution domestically, the Government’s target for the next four years of their five-year term can turn to economic development, including a US$15bn stimulus package which was announced this week,” said Dien.

“The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement took effect from 1 January 2022 and contains preferential terms and principles that the Manager believes have the potential to continue supply-chain shifts to Vietnam and possibly even accelerate this trend.”