Vietnam tech stocks rally on bright prospects

Vietnam’s technology stocks have made strong gains thanks to a bright outlook for the technology and telecommunications sector fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) fever, 5G commercialization, and the adoption of the revised Telecommunications Law.

In Vietnam, technology-telecommunications does not have the same scale of influence on the market held by the banking, securities and real estate sectors. But according to broker Saigon Securities (SSI), shares of this group, led by FPT Corp. listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as FPT, increased by 41% in 2023, surpassing the gain of the VN-Index that represents the HoSE.

Two prominent technology ecosystems, FPT and Viettel, both had strong upward momentum last year, with many stocks surpassing their historical peaks. In the Viettel group, all four stocks VGI of Viettel Global, CTR of Viettel Construction, VTP of Viettel Post, and VTK of Viettel Consultancy and Services JSC have surged 100-200% since the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, in the FPT ecosystem, the stocks of the parent company FPT Corp. and subsidiaries such as FPT Retail (FRT), FPT Telecom (FOX), and FPT Securities (FTS) all surpassed their peaks in 2023 and continue to head north. Notably, FTS and FRT gained 3.6 times to VND62,000 ($2.51) per share and 2.4 times to VND147,400 ($7.06) per share, respectively.

The business results of technology and telecommunications enterprises such as FPT, FPT Telecom, Viettel Construction, and Viettel Global were all positive last year. SSI estimated that this group's prospects will continue to be bright this year.

According to U.S. technology consultancy firm Gartner, information technology spending slowed in 2023 and will grow again in 2024, with the driving force coming from cloud computing and AI. This development benefits FPT’s operations in foreign markets like Japan, Europe and America, where cloud computing and AI segments account for 40% of the company's digital transformation revenue.

FPT said it plans to cooperate with Microsoft and NVIDIA in AI-related issues. The company also aims to expand the automobile segment in response to the demand for automatic electric vehicles.

In the telecommunications segment, in 2022 and 2023, the number of internet broadband subscribers achieved a single-digit growth rate year-on-year because the domestic broadband market entered a market saturation stage. This growth will continue into 2024.

Gartner forecasts global spending on data centers will increase 9.5% this year. However, SSI believes that the growth in Vietnam can be higher thanks to benefits from Decree 53/2022/ND-CP. Under the decree, foreign companies operating in telecommunications services, e-commerce, electronic payments, social network providers, and online games must store their data in Vietnam.

According to Research and Markets, the world’s largest market research store, Vietnam’s data center market size reached $561 million in 2022 and is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8% through 2028, of which Viettel Group, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), CMC Telecom, FPT Telecom and VNG JSC (VNZ) are notable businesses.

FPT plans to launch a new data center with a capacity of 3,600 racks in the second half of 2024, helping to bring greater revenue to its telecommunications business.

In addition, the National Assembly officially approved the revised Telecommunications Law in November 2023. The law creates more favorable conditions to support the development of telecommunications infrastructure, including allowing the construction of telecommunications works on public property and the responsibilities of relevant parties to facilitate telecommunications construction. Therefore, FPT and Viettel Construction are both likely to enjoy long-term benefits.

In November 2023, the Ministry of Information and Communications issued Circular 13/2023/TT-BTTT (effective from January 7, 2024) introducing the 3,560-4,000 MHz band for the potential 5G frequency auction plan for 2024. Viettel Construction is the only listed unit to benefit from increased 3G/5G coverage and 5G commercialization potential this year. Its infrastructure for lease, construction and other opeations are expected to grow.

For FPT Retail, the gloomy technology retail segment last year caused the business to suffer a net loss of VND345 billion ($13.97 million). However, its pharmaceutical segment with the Long Chau pharmacy chain outperformed. It opened 560 new pharmacies, bringing the total to 1,487 by the end of 2023 - the largest pharmacy chain in the country. The chain maintained average revenue of VND1.1 billion ($44,550) per store per month. FPT Retail also plans to open a series of new services and products aimed at public healthcare in the future, first of all vaccination centers.

Meanwhile, FPT Securities is benefiting from the gaining momentum of the stock market and the government’s goal of upgrading the market status from “frontier” to “emerging.” In 2023, the company reported a pre-tax profit of VND540 billion ($21.87 million), a year-on-year increase of 15.6%. However, this year, it targets a profit decline of 18% to VND420 billion ($17 million).