Vietnam Emerging Capital lists on NSX

An Australian fund manager specialising in Vietnam has listed on the National Stock Exchange after raising almost $4 million.

Vietnam Emerging Capital (VECL) has achieved the minimum subscription for listing, although the fund manager was hoping to raise $12.5 million.

VECL chief executive officer Lawrence Nguyen said the capital raising would enable the fund to invest in Vietnamese stocks and initial public offers.

“The proceeds from the Australian capital raising will provide working capital for the company to take advantage of investment opportunities in the emerging market of Vietnam,” he said.

“We will now be looking initially to buy blue chip shares listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and the Hanoi Security Trading Centre.”

Nguyen said the fund manager would also proceed with a property development project in Ho Chi Minh City at the Quang Trung Information Technology Park.

The timing of the capital raising is good, he said, as the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange has fallen from a high last year of 1,100 points to 640 points this month.

“The market correction provides an excellent entry point for VECL, with many quality companies representing good buying opportunities,” Nguyen said.

“The price earnings ratio of ‘blue chips’ has fallen back to a range of 13 to 15 times earnings, compared with the height of the market last year, when price/earnings were in the range of 20 to 30 times.”