Good Morning Vietnam Stocks

Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, who would have thought that Vietnam would become a hotbed of capitalism? Many investors are now looking at Vietnam as the next China. Financial activity has increased immensely in Viet Nam over the last few years.

For example, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange just announced a partnership which involves sharing of investment and technology information and might lead to cross listings of stocks on both stock exchanges. Nike (NKE) has been manufacturing in Vietnam for over 12 years. On Intel’s (INTC) website, they reported that they have committed $1 billion to build a 500,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Vietnam which should be completed by 2009, and employ up to 4,000 people.

So how do you buy Vietnam stocks? You would need to have access to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, if you are interested in buying individual Vietnam stocks directly, such as:
Tienphong Plastic Joint Stock Company (HST:NTP) plastic pipe manufacturer
Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment (HCM:CII) infrastructure development
Phuong Nam Culture Joint Stock Corp. (HCM:PNC) media company
Tuong An Vegetable Oil Joint Stock Co (HCM:TAC) food products
Do Thanh Technology Corp. (HCM:DTT) plastic products

However, there are a couple other ways of investing in Vietnam stocks. The Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VTOPF.PK) (VOF.L) is one of the largest Vietnam closed end funds, and it trades on both the Pink Sheets in the United States and on the London Stock Exchange. According to their web site, their net asset value was up over 200% since its inception, and it was rated the best performing fund in 2004 according to LCF Rothschild Research.

Vietnam Holding Ltd. (VNMHF.PK) (VNH.L) is another closed end investment fund managed by Vietnam Holding Asset Management Ltd., with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It also trades on both the Pink and the London Stock Exchange. They invest primarily in privatized State Owned Enterprises.

A way to play the Vietnam real estate market is through the London Stock Exchange traded SGL Vietnam Development Limited (SGLV.L), a closed end company which invests in Vietnamese real estate.

There is even a bank in the United States that specializes in providing banking services to the Vietnamese business community in Southern California, called Saigon National Bank (SAGN.OB). Although Bank assets have increased 80% over the last twelve months while deposits have increased 228%, they announced a net loss from operations of $0.15 per share.

To see articles on other stocks from countries around the world, check out WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above. All of the Vietnamese stocks described above are very low cap and should be cosidered very speculative.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com