Dr Nguyễn Sơn, chairman of the Việt Nam Securities Depository, speaks at the seminar on the Việt Nam’s securities market in 2021 and wise investment choices held in HCM City on April 24.  — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Education, technology, freight forwarding, renewable energy, and healthcare companies are expected to maintain their growth, offering stock investment opportunities, a seminar heard in HCM City last Saturday.

Speaking at a seminar on the market in 2021 and wise investment choices, Dr Lê Anh Tú, senior advisor at PwC and deputy chairman of the Economists Club, said the tech sector has always attracted interest, and achieved CAGR of 26.1 per cent in 2015-19.

He expected the figure to be even higher in the coming years.

The education sector is expected to attract investors since spending on education would continue to increase, especially by the middle class, he said.

Investment in the sector would also increase thanks to the Government’s policy of encouraging 100 per cent investment by individuals, including foreign.

The healthcare sector would remain attractive since per capita healthcare spending is expected to increase from US$194 in 2019 to $309 in 2024 and the ageing population is increasing rapidly, he said.

According to experts at the seminar, there are many fundamental factors backing the development of Việt Nam’s stock market.

The economy is likely to grow at 6.8‐7 per cent in 2021, FDI investment has boosted the services sector and the competent curtailment of the Covid-19 epidemic has created a momentum for many sectors to boost exports, Dr Nguyễn Sơn, chairman of the Việt Nam Securities Depository, said.

“The price to earnings (P/E) ratio is still low compared to other countries in the region, meaning there is still much potential for it to increase further.”

There is a possibility of foreign capital flows shifting from other markets to Việt Nam when its stock market is upgraded as an emerging market, Sơn said. It currently meets seven out of nine requirements set by FTSE Russell for the upgrade.

The new securities law has also helped promote the stock market, he said.

To further boost its development, there would be a focus on strengthening regulations and stock exchanges’ IT systems, improving the capacity of financial intermediaries, developing new products such as pension funds, non-voting depositary receipts and depositary receipts, and creating a market for start-ups’ products, he said.

At the seminar, held by the Economists Club, the Hồ Chí Minh Securities Corporation and Green Plus Joint Stock Corporation, experts also talked about methods to classify and choose stocks for investment.

Also at the event, Nguyễn Trúc Sơn, permanent deputy chairman of the Bến Tre Province People’s Committee granted investment registration certificate to Green Plus for developing a US$1 million functional food plant in the province’s Giao Long Industrial Park. — VNS