Finnish fund reports 6.8% growth in Vietnam investment performance

Finland’s Pyn Elite Fund saw its investment performance in Vietnam grow 6.8% month-on-month in January, well above the 3% gain in Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index.

In its latest report, the investment fund said its growth was driven by stellar rallies of ACV of Airports Corporation of Vietnam with an increase of 17.3%, and banking stocks like MBB of MBBank and CTG of VietinBank, both up 16.6%.

The total earnings of six banks that it has invested in grew 31% year-on-year in Q4/2023 and 18% in the fiscal year 2023. Meanwhile, the rest of VN-Index (excluding banks) saw total earnings drop 13% year-on-year in the fiscal year 2023, the report said.

Stocks in the fund’s portfolio that saw sharp declines included SCS of SCSC Cargo Service Corporation (-0.6%), CMG of CMC Corporation (-8.3%), and SAB of brewer Sabeco (-8.5%).

Topping the list of 10 largest investments by Pyn Elite Fund was DNSE Securities Joint Stock Company, with 5.4% of its portfolio.

In late December 2023, PYN Elite Fund and DNSE officially signed a cooperation agreement under which the Finnish fund would hold a 12% stake in DNSE, becoming the second largest shareholder of the Vietnamese broker.

The remaining top investments were in STB of Sacombank, HDB of HDBank, CTG of Vietinbak, MBB of Military Bank, TPB of TPBank, ACV, SHS of Saigon-Hanoi Securities, VEA of Vietnam Engine And Agricultural Machinery Corporation, and VHC of Vinh Hoan Corporation.

According to the report, in Q4/2022, the $20 billion fraud case regarding unlisted Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) exerted temporary stress on the financial market. The case was managed well by the government, and the uninvolved, unaffected listed banks were expected to have another strong year in 2024.

Regarding Vietnam’s macroeconomic situation, the report said trade activities gained momentum in January with exports expanding 6.7% month-on-month and 42% year-on-year, while imports rose 0.1% month-on-month and 33% year-on-year.

Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Manager’s Index) climbed back to growth territory at 50.3 last month, supported by renewed expansions in new orders and production, the report said.

Disbursed FDI increased 9.6% year-on-year, while registered FDI surged 40.2%. Inflation eased to 3.4% year-on-year from 3.6% in December 2023.

Deposit rates continued to drop further across the board, to nearly the lowest levels in history.

The fund revealed that total assets under its management (AUM) at the end of January stood at €702 million ($756.8 million). Its total net asset value (NAV) reached €429.5 million ($463 million).