VietNam Holding Ltd (LSE:VNH) said the country remains relatively resilient, though April saw its stock market dragged into the world-wide sell-off.
In its monthly investor report, the investment trust said April signalled “somewhat of a revival in Vietnam” in terms of holiday visitors, which also boosted consumer sectors such as retail.
However, with the sort of wider market conditions that saw the S&P 500 endure its worst April since the 1940s, Vietnam’s VN Index reversed all its gains since June 2021, and the fund's net asset value dropped 6.7%.
Local stock drama was centred around property companies, following arrests and new investigations into a few market participants, with investors taking flight from the wider sector, hitting the fund.
Top positive contributors to VNH included port operator Hai An Transport, omnichannel retailer Mobile World, and broker VND.
“Although global risks abound (war, inflation, and supply chain disruptions), Vietnam remains relatively resilient for now. April's macroeconomic data for the country was especially upbeat even with the uncertain global risk landscape and stock market corrections,” the trust said in its statement.
Vietnam’s official statistics showed growth is accelerating in almost all economic activities, with exports and imports surging 25% and 15.5%, and the IMF maintaining its 2022 forecast of 6% growth.
VNH also noted Japan's prime minister Kishida Fumio visited Vietnam to meet with counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, with talks focused on building the two countries' strategic partnership and deepening ties on technology renovation, digital transformation, and supply chain diversification.