More than 150 domestic and foreign investors are participating in VinaCapital’s 2018 Investor Conference in HCM City on October 11 and 12.

Speaking at a press conference held on the sidelines of the conference, Don Lam, co-founder and CEO of VinaCapital, said: “I am happy to welcome the record number of attendees to our conference. Many have attended in the past, but there are a number of new investors this year, underscoring Viet Nam’s continued and growing attractiveness among the international financial community.”

Among new investors are professional investors in emerging markets, he said.

Unlike many other foreign markets which experience strong fluctuations, the Vietnamese market is “sustainable” and many foreign investors agree that it has more room for growth and growing in a sustainable manner, he said.

Some others are interested in new sectors such as technology sector and the stock market, he said.

At the meeting, delegates heard updates from the managers of VinaCapital’s key funds, executives at companies operating in some of the country’s most promising sectors like technology, property, logistics, healthcare, banking, and manufacturing. Sean Maher, founder of Entext Economics, spoke about the potential leading role Vietnamese companies could play in the growing global digital economy.

The delegates also discussed the impacts of the depreciation of the Chinese yuan, a major concern among investors.

Talking about the prospect of the Vietnamese market, Andy Ho, VinaCapital’s chief investment officer, said strong economic growth and economic stability, growing size of the stock market and the listing of many new firms, divestment from listed State-owned companies, and the Government’s determination to reform the financial sector give Viet Nam a big advantage.

Viet Nam’s equity market last month was added to FTSE Russell’s secondary emerging watch list for a possible future reclassification from its current frontier market status, he said.

And it is also expected to be added to the watch list by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) for a possible upgrade from frontier to emerging market in the next one or two years, he said.

The trade war between the US and China would make foreign investors relocate their manufacturing facilities from China to Viet Nam, he said.

Foreign investment in Viet Nam has increased sharply in the past few years and this is expected to continue, he added.

This year’s conference also marks VinaCapital’s 15th anniversary.

It has invested over $4 billion in more than 100 companies and projects in the form of listed and private equity, venture capital and real estate development.

It built one of Viet Nam’s first wealth management businesses offering increasingly affluent Vietnamese investors alternative investment products. The business has assets of around $100 million under management. — VNS