Vietnam Enterprise Investments has published its annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021. The chairman says that the Vietnamese stock market produced one of the best returns globally in 2021, the Vietnam Index rose by 39.0%. The trust’s NAV outperformed, achieving a return of 47.1%.
As of December 2021, 98.7% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated and the new goal is to have a similar percentage of adults boosted by the second quarter of 2022. Additionally, with domestic pharmaceutical companies now approved to produce Merck’s COVID-19 treatments, the impact from the pandemic is expected to continue to diminish.
GDP recovered in the fourth quarter to end up 2.6% for the entire year. A primary driver was the manufacturing sector, which advanced by 4.1% year-on-year (yoy), followed by agriculture at 2.9% yoy, and the services sector at 1.2% yoy. Manufacturing benefited from the effective vaccination strategy that enabled workers to quickly return to factories.
In valuation terms, the earnings growth forecasts for the top 60 companies in Vietnam averaged 22%, and the price/earnings ratio was at approximately 12x. The Vietnamese market is still below its average five-year valuation.
The trust’s outperformance was led by core overweight positions in infrastructure, banks and properties. Stocks include Hoa Phat Group, VP Bank, Asia Commercial Bank, and two developers – Khang Dien House and Dat Xanh Group. The trust also benefited from strong performance in sectors of retail and technology, investing in such companies as Mobile World Group and FPT Corp.
VEIL : Vietnam Enterprise reaps rewards of Vietnam’s COVID recovery