VN Index hit a 52-week high on the last trading day of the Lunar year and closed January with a strong gain of 4,87% mainly thanks to index heavily weighted banking stocks. PYN Elite NAV advanced 0,87%, partly due to the unfavorable movement of foreign exchange as the EUR/VND rate weakened almost 2% from 24.025 to 24.366. While banks rallied in January, our biggest holding MWG continued its year-end pause and clearly unperformed the index, after a tremendous full year performance in 2016.
Mobile World’s retail CEO shared an ambitious vision for the company to achieve a revenue of USD 10 bn. in the next 5 years. The management estimated that half of its revenue would come from the two existing retail chains and the other half from the new grocery chain. We believe MWG can attain its target for two reasons; first, MWG has a track record of beating their own targets and
never fails to deliver their commitments. Second, MWG possesses a top quality, dedicated management team and an excellent culture that will drive it ahead.
Domestic consumption and manufacturing sector continue to be the growth drivers of Vietnam’s economy. In January, retail sales went up 9,9% y-o-y, exports grew 7,6% y-o-y while CPI rose 0,46% M-o-M due to the Tet demand. The PMI dropped to 51,9 but remained relatively strong among ASEAN countries. Notably, the Prime Minister has announced that Vietnam would increase
foreign ownership limits in banks this year to speed up banking restructuring and attract overseas investments. More state divestments, acceleration of SOE listings and the launch of derivative markets are also on government agenda, indicating its strong
commitment toward market development