Vietnam: cheap stocks make it country of now

{"text":[[{"start":11.54,"text":"Some of the world’s cheapest equities are in Vietnam. "},{"start":14.943999999999999,"text":"The south-east Asian country’s benchmark index is trading at a its lowest valuation in a decade. "},{"start":20.573999999999998,"text":"That gives investors a reason to get serious about this long-overlooked market. "}],[{"start":25.659999999999997,"text":"A soaring dollar has left the Vietnam Stock Index down nearly 30 per cent this year, trading at less than 10 times forward earnings. "},{"start":33.17699999999999,"text":"It is one of the worst performing among regional peers. "},{"start":36.331999999999994,"text":"Its blue-chips include real estate and tech conglomerate Vingroup, which has fallen 37 per cent this year. "}],[{"start":43.28,"text":"There is plenty of potential. "},{"start":45.447,"text":"The economy is expected to grow at the fastest pace in Asia this year. "},{"start":49.564,"text":"The population is growing and young. "},{"start":51.857,"text":"More than 70 per cent of Vietnamese people are under the age of 35. "},{"start":56.087,"text":"GDP per capita is just $3,694, less than one-third of China’s figure. "},{"start":62.229,"text":"This leaves ample room for growth. "}],[{"start":65.42,"text":"Vietnam has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the US-China trade war. "},{"start":70.137,"text":"US groups have moved suppliers to Vietnam to dodge US tariffs and blacklists for operating in China. "}],[{"start":76.4,"text":"Apple already sources a proportion of its popular AirPods earphones from Vietnam. "},{"start":81.44200000000001,"text":"It is also testing watch and laptop production there. "},{"start":84.60900000000001,"text":"Exports to the US grew more than a quarter in the year to September, reflecting the shift. "},{"start":89.51400000000001,"text":"Pandemic lockdowns in China have reduced its manufacturing dominance. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":94.02000000000001,"text":"Vietnamese growth has been impressive. "},{"start":96.63700000000001,"text":"The economy expanded 13.7 per cent in the third quarter, after growth of 7.8 per cent in the previous quarter. "},{"start":103.69200000000001,"text":"As travel normalises globally, tourism, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy, should give those numbers a further boost. "},{"start":110.72200000000001,"text":"Vietnam’s quasi-socialist market economy has helped it rapidly slash its poverty rate from 17 per cent to below 5 per cent in the span of just 10 years. "}],[{"start":120.42000000000002,"text":"But it has downsides. "},{"start":122.37400000000001,"text":"Moving capital out of Vietnam is complicated. "},{"start":125.27900000000001,"text":"Exchange controls limit foreign currency outflows. "}],[{"start":129.45000000000002,"text":"This has partly been why Vietnam has been the country of the future for much longer than investors have hoped. "},{"start":135.079,"text":"But at today’s valuations, the risks are attenuating. "}],[{"start":138.47000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/85634-1665120652.mp3"}