Finnish fund Pyn Elite's investment performance drops 8.2% in April

Finland’s Pyn Elite Fund saw its investment performance in Vietnam decline 8.2% month-on-month in April, driven by short-term profit taking in banking stocks and a weaker Vietnamese dong (VND).

According to Pyn Elite Fund, the top 10 stocks accounting for the largest proportions in the fund’s portfolio include STB of Sacombank, HDB of HDBank, CTG VietinBank, ACV of Airports Corporation of Vietnam, MBB of MBBank, TPB of TPBank, DNSE of DNSE Securities, SHS of Saigon-Hanoi Securities, VHC of Vinh Hoan Corporation, and FPT of tech giant FPT Corporation. Of them, banking tickers make up 47.4%.

In its latest report, the investment fund said the VND’s depreciation of 2.1% against the USD in April initially fueled rate hike fears, compounded by "whispers of political reshuffling." Yet, the depreciation was in line with regional currencies, and reflective of the USD’s recent rally.

“At the month’s end, there were modest deposit rate hikes of 10-50 basis points, yet from historic lows and thus interest rates remained at favorable levels,” it noted.

Regarding the macro situation, the fund stated that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed back above no-change territory to post at 50.3 in April, driven by solid expansions in new orders.

Retail sales expanded 9% year-on-year in April, with tourism revenue soaring 58%, fueled by the resurgence of Chinese visitors. The number of international tourists in the first four months of 2024 increased 58.2% year-on-year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Four-month disbursed FDI grew by 7.4% compared the same period last year. Exports and imports in April expanded by 10.6% and 19.9% year-on-year, respectively, contributing to a new record trade surplus of $8.6 billion.

The government in early May proposed to extend the VAT cut program to December 2024, fostering a conducive environment for sustained consumption growth, the fund noted.