VietNam Holding Limited ("VNH" or the
"Company")
Monthly Investor Report
A report detailing the activities of
the Company for the month of December 2024 has been issued by Dynam
Capital Limited, the investment manager of the Company. Electronic
copies of the report have been made available to shareholders on
the
Company's website and a summary of
the report is included below.
Manager Commentary: 2024 was a
pivotal year for Vietnam
December 2024 proved to be another
record-breaking month for Vietnam. Its economy showed robust
growth, with GDP expanding by 7.09% in 2024 overall-much more than
the expected 6.5%. This was mainly due to the country's resilient
manufacturing sector amid unprecedented global challenges, from
geopolitical uncertainties and extreme weather disruptions to rapid
digital transformations and fast-changing stakeholder needs. 2024
also marked a notable improvement from the 5.05% growth recorded in
2023. Indeed, the fourth quarter alone in 2024 saw a 7.55%
increase, the fastest quarterly expansion in over two years. The
impressive economic growth momentum helped Vietnam shine bright
compared with other nations in the region, and this is expected to
continue in 2025 despite emerging external threats, such as the
structured slowdown of China, a likely trade war sparked by US
president Trump's tariffs and interconnected global interest rate
and FX risks. Vietnam's government is aiming for 8.0% GDP growth
this year with a strategic focus on increasing productivity. We
believe its various policy initiatives coupled with renewed
positive sentiment and investor demand will support stronger
domestic consumption fuelled by disbursement of public
investment.
December demonstrated how Vietnam
continues to position itself as a modern industrialised nation
with, for example, new criteria for high-tech investments having
come into effect late in the month and AI technology champions
feted by the country's corporate awards. We expect significant
technological advancements in 2025 with Vietnamese banks and
retailers already digitalising more but also with even greater
foreign direct investment in related projects. For instance,
Vietnam is awaiting the potential investment of US$1.5 bn from Elon
Musk's SpaceX - for its Starlink satellite internet services. This
will pave the way for more digital developments across the country
and underline its significance as a key satellite internet market
in Southeast Asia, offering SpaceX access to its increasingly
tech-savvy population and expanding digital economy.
Additionally, public investment for
2024 reached a record US$26.5 bn and Ho Chi Minh City's first
metro-line saw an encouraging mass adoption of over 1 million users
in its first few weeks of operating. To round things off, Vietnam
also beat Thailand in the final match of an international soccer
championship, boding well for the country as the year of the dragon
comes to an end and the snake edges closer. Vietnam's stock market
mirrored the country's economic vigour with some notable
infrastructure and corporate governance improvements in 2024, for
example, with new amendments to the Securities Law. The revised
legislation enhances market transparency and strengthens oversight
against fraud, setting the stage for Vietnam's stock market to
achieving emerging market status. There was also the implementation
of Circular 68/2024/TT-BTC allowing foreign institutional investors
to purchase shares without upfront payment in specific cases,
raising even more optimism for 2025. Such advancements have boosted
investor confidence and with anticipated earnings per share growth
of >20%, the highest in ASEAN, analysts expect the stock market
to continue this positive trajectory.
VNH also has reasons to celebrate
having outperformed the index for all of 2024 and recording another
year of strong Alpha generation, despite the 4.8% devaluation of
the Vietnam Dong against the US dollar. The Fund won three
investment awards in 2024, and it is worth noting that its share
price has been trading at a premium to net asset value - one of a
few country funds to do so. The Fund has been issuing new shares to
meet investor demand - the first time a London-listed
Vietnam-focused fund has done so for well over a decade.
As our chairman noted in a
recent
podcast episode with UK Investor
Magazine, 'Leading the peer group in 2024 and the 2025 outlook',
"We've got some great portfolio champions, but we're also on the
lookout for some new rising stars to complement that, so we have a
busy but exciting year ahead."
For more information please
contact:
Dynam Capital
Limited
Craig
Martin
Tel: +84 28 3827 7590
info@dynamcapital.com
|www.dynamcapital.com
www.vietnamholding.com
Cavendish Capital Markets
Limited
Corporate Broker and Financial
Advisor
Tel: +44 20 7220 0500
