BEYOND SHARES
Vietnam — a China play without Chinese problems
Where to find growth opportunity investments in a high-growth economy
In the early days of my offshore investing foray, I was fortunate to stumble across a new frontier market: Vietnam. It was somewhat niche and not very expensive; it had recently privatised inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs), it had an excellent demographic profile (in terms of population pyramid shape) and it was growing like mad!
Whereas South Africa started 2010 with GDP per capita of $6,018 and ended 2022 with GDP per capita of (drum roll) $6,018, Vietnam started 2010 with GDP per capita of $1,926 and ended 2022 with $3,655. Both economies have debt ratings of BB+, which leaves us to ask: “Which country is ruled by the clever guys?”..
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