Viet Nam among Asia-Pacific’s top 3 performing markets in H1 of 2024: CNBC
VGP - Viet Nam along with India and Japan will be Asia-Pacific’s top-performing markets in the first half of 2024, according to CNBC.
The CNBC noted that Viet Nam has benefited from the "China plus one" strategy with companies diversifying investments to help reduce their reliance on China.
The country expects to see a 6-6.5 percent GDP growth in 2024 on the back of robust imports and exports, as well as stronger manufacturing activity.
Now is the right time for investors to enter Viet Nam stocks, Andy Ho, chief investment officer at VinaCapital Group said.
"Over the next 6 to 12 months, Viet Nam will be a good market as valuations are inexpensive at about 11 to 12 times earnings for 2023. That's about a 20-25 percent discount to the regional average," Ho told CNBC.
"The average daily trading volume in Viet Nam has gone from US$500 million a year ago to about a billion dollars daily today," he said, elaborating that investment opportunities can be found in consumption, healthcare and real estate sectors.
Official statistics showed that Viet Nam lured nearly US$36.61 billion in foreign investment in 2023, up 32.1 percent against the previous year.
The above figure includes over US$20.19 billion channeled into 3,188 new projects, representing a 62.2 percent year-on-year increase in value compared to the same period last year.
Viet Nam's GDP grew by 5.05 percent in 2023, lower than target by one percentage point, but still outpacing many other nations.
The nation's GDP is now at US$430 billion. GDP per capita is at US$4,284, up 3.88 percent year-on-year. Average labor productivity is at US$8,380, up 3.38 percent.
In an interview with VGP, Country Director of the ADB for Viet Nam Shantanu Chakraborty shared: "We have kept forecast for Viet Nam's GDP growth in 2024 at 6 percent, which is second highest among ASEAN Member States assuming an uptick in the economies of Viet Nam's main trading partners and positive developments in geopolitical tensions".
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank continues to expect a robust GDP growth of 6.7 percent for Viet Nam in 2024. Tim Leelahaphan, Economist at Standard Chartered Bank held that Viet Nam continues to offer a promising medium-term outlook./.
