Finnish fund PYN Elite bullish on VN-Index outlook

Finland-based PYN Elite Fund remains bullish about the prospects for the VN-Index, predicting the main gauge of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange to reach an all-time high of 1,700 points by the end of this year.

The projection is unchanged from the fund’s May report and much higher than the consensus forecasts of 1,400-1,500 points by other brokerage houses in Vietnam.

The VN-Index has risen 11.2% since the outset of this year, ending Tuesday at 1,256.56.

“We share the positive views based on earnings growth, but we believe the index may rally even higher this year,” said Petri Deryng, the fund’s portfolio manager, in a note released this week.

In addition to strong earnings growth, other factors could also boost sentiment among local investors as the year progresses and even lead to vigorous momentum on the stock market, he said.

Furthermore, expectations of the upcoming U.S. interest rate cuts will ease the depreciative pressures on the Vietnamese dong, which have had a negative impact on the Vietnamese stock market.

Deryng named other drivers for the rally, including the eventual deployment of the new KRX trading system on the Vietnamese stock exchange this year, the potential lifting of prefunding requirements for foreign institutional investors next fall, and moderate interest rates in Vietnam.

In September 2023, the Finish fund forecast the VN-Index would reach 2,500 points in 2025-2026.

PYN Elite has been investing in Vietnam since 2013 and has allocated all of its equity investments in the Southeast Asian country. The fund had EUR780 million ($836 million) worth of assets under management as of May.

Its largest holdings are STB of Sacombank, ACV of Airports Corporation of Vietnam, MBB of MBBank, HDB of HDBank, CTG of VietinBank, TPB of Tien Phong Bank, FPT of IT giant FPT, DSE of securities firm DNSE, and CMG of CMC Corp.

Banking stocks currently have a weight of 48% in PYN Elite’s portfolio.