Vietnam Enterprise Investments Ltd reports 47% rise in NAV for 2021

On Feb 1, 2022

“Given the index has been touching its all-time high and global market volatility looks to be on the rise, we feel this is not a time to change tack,” said the investment manager

FTSE 250 constituent Vietnam Enterprise Investments Ltd (LSE:VEIL) today announced a 47% increase in net asset value over 2021, ending the fourth quarter at US$2.6bn.

The closed-ended fund, which invests in listed equities in Vietnam, enjoyed a 6.5% growth in NAV during the fourth quarter, it said in a statement, with NAV per share amounting to US$12.21 by the end of the quarter.

VEIL’s investment performance was driven by strong growth through the first three quarters of the year, with a rally among small and mid-cap stocks and broad selling of large-cap companies resulting in an underperformance versus its benchmark in the final three months of 2021.

The company nevertheless noted that its focus remains on banking, property, steel and retail sectors, which the investment manager believes best position the portfolio to be a beneficiary of the trends currently driving Vietnam’s development.

“The company’s focus on interlocking strategic sectors (banking, property, steel) was successful in H1 2021 when investors were increasing their allocations to value and growth stocks reflective of the buoyant economy, but they fell away in H2 2021 amidst heavy foreign net-selling and the spread of the Delta variant rumbling macro fundamentals,” said VEIL portfolio manager Dien Huu Vu.

“With over 90% of Vietnam’s adult population now double vaccinated and economic indicators showing the country is successfully adapting to ‘living with Covid’, the investment manager expects things to normalise.”

The investment manager added: “The objective of VEIL is to outperform its reference benchmark over a rolling three-year period and the portfolio management team favours sticking to fundamental stock-picking and undertaking structured deals with quality companies channelling top-down economic drivers and ESG compliance, which is an integral part of the investment process and is used by analysts in their evaluation of stocks.

“Given the index has been touching its all-time high and global market volatility looks to be on the rise, we feel this is not a time to change tack.”