The situation with Covid-19 has taken a turn for the worse in Vietnam. The local government of Ho Chi Minh City made a drastic decision: the city was closed, and a two-week curfew took place. Army units were brought into town to enforce the rules and provide food.
The total number of infections in Vietnam during the pandemic remains low at 330,000. However, the ongoing fourth wave has created most of the infections and now up to 10 000 infections have been recorded daily. The Vietnamese vaccination program was only launched in June, but currently the vaccinations are progressing with good speed. More than 17 million vaccines have been given in 2.5 months and 23% of the total population has already received the first jab. In the HCMC the vaccination rate is already 79%. Jabs are given at a rate of more than 500 000 a day, as there are relatively lot of vaccines available this fall. By the end of the year, the administration aims to have a nationwide vaccination rate of 70% of the first vaccine.
The local investors have not lost faith in the stock market during this fourth wave, but the closures and the restrictions have caused dips. This has brought a lot of turbulence to the market and to the NAV of PYN Elite. We share the consensus view that Vietnam will get the fourth wave in control reasonably quickly, so meanwhile, all the dips in the market are buying opportunities. In consensus, and in our view, the VN Index is on its way to 1500 points towards the end of the year, as it is now at 1300 points.
Important information regarding the text and the fund
The material presented in this text is based on PYN Fund Management’s view of markets and investment opportunities. PYN Elite Fund (non-UCITS) invests its assets in a highly allocated manner in frontier markets and in a small number of companies. This investment approach involves a larger risk of volatility compared to ordinary broadly diversified equity investments. The value of an investment may decline substantially in unfavorable market conditions or due to an individual unsuccessful investment. It is entirely possible that the estimates of economic development or a company’s business performance presented in this presentation will not be realized as presented and they involve material uncertainties.