Andy Ho, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at VinaCapital speaks at the VinaCapital Investor Conference in Ha Noi on Tuesday. — Photo cafef.vn

Viet Nam is expected to attract more investors as its economy is developing at a stable rate, with GDP growth of 7 per cent.

The country’s competitiveness has increased by 10 places in the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index, which was announced this week.

The information was released by VinaCapital Co-Founder and CEO Don Lam at the two-day 2019 VinaCapital Investor Conference held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

He said after four consecutive years of holding its investor conference in HCM City, this year Vinacapital chose Ha Noi because the capital city was becoming a leading destination for foreign direct investment in Viet Nam.

“Most investors come from South Korea and Japan, showing that the wave of Asian capital flow is interested in the Vietnamese market,” Lam said.

VinaCapital, a leading investment management firm, plans to launch the VinaCapital100 ETF (exchange-traded fund) by the end of this year, with initial capital of VND50 billion (US$2.1 million).

“I hope after the meeting today, investors will pour more capital into the Vietnamese stock market,” Lam said.

At the two-day conference, which attracted experts, speakers and representatives from investment partners, the participants discussed various topics including environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in investment in Viet Nam, opportunities in technology development, sustainable energy production and tourism.

In addition, directors of companies and leaders in the banking, logistics, steel and retail sectors shared experience and offered solutions to access opportunities from the strong growth of Viet Nam’s economy.

According to Andy Ho, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at VinaCapital, the firm is managing over US$3.3 billion in assets, of which $1.7 billion comes from investors (including $917 million from the Vietnam Opportunity Fund and open funds), while the rest comes from the company’s own trading.

One of VinaCapital’s largest projects is the $4-billion Hoi An Casino project, of which VinaCapital holds 31.91 per cent and SunCity –which is 70 per cent owned by Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook – holds 68.09 per cent.

This project started construction in April 2016 and was expected to open in December this year, Ho said.

He said VinaCapital had also invested in a number of other real estate projects in Viet Nam such as a resort in Quy Nhon City in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh and the $100-million VinaCapital Ventures. He did not disclose the company’s own trading items.

According to Nguyen Thi Thai Thuan, General Director of VinaCapital Fund Management JSC, VinaCapital is managing open funds for Vietnamese investors including Bao Thinh VinaWealth Enhanced Fixed Income Fund (VFF), with a net asset value (NAV) of VND161 billion, Hung Thinh VinaWealth Opportunity Fund (VEOF), with NAV of VND524 billion), VinaCapital Opportunity Fund (VOF) with VND82 billion, and some other funds. The net worth of these funds is about $55 million.

VinaCapital statistics show that as of August 31 this year, VFF gained a growth rate of 5.7 per cent compared with that of early this year, and VEOF increased by 10 per cent, meanwhile VOF decreased by 2.8 per cent. — VNS

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