On 10 September, US President Joe Biden signed a series of historic deals with Vietnam involving plane orders, semi-conductor design centres, the digital economy and human rights.The rapprochement between two countries which were once so bitterly opposed was far more than symbolic and could mark a turning point both for foreign direct investment and for investors in Vietnam's stock market.Under th

With banks still very much the focus of the market's attention, should investors rethink not just their direct exposure to the sector through individual stocks but also their indirect exposure through funds and investment trusts with large weightings in the sector?Shares has examined some of the funds and trusts with the largest reported exposure to financial firms as a proportion of total assets

Given the poor recent performance of many investment trusts compared with the FTSE 100 index - which has held up relatively well this year and which investors can access via a tracker fund for a few basis points - the age-old issue of fees has reared its head again.The big question for investors in investment trusts which carry a high OCF (ongoing charge fee) is should they stick with them when th

The Vietnamese market still looks an attractive destination for investment despite the risks hovering around the wider region.International investors in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets in general have been put on high alert after widespread civil unrest in Sri Lanka which culminated in the resignation of the president and prime minister.The island nation has faced months of protests about the st

In the end 2021 proved a rewarding year for stock markets as vaccines were rolled out and economies began to recover from the worst ravages of the pandemic. In the early part of the year, growth was shunned for value before bouncing back into fashion as the year progressed.On the whole, this was a volatile period, with investors contending with concerns over inflation and the rising interest rates

Vietnam has witnessed volatile stock market swings of late, yet risk-tolerant investors seeking exposure to a rapidly growing economy should not rule out putting money to work in Vietnam.Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.1% in 2018, powered by positive demographics with a population of around 95m and an emerging middle class.The market consensus is for GDP to grow between 6.5% and 6.7% in

Vietnam is one of the world's fastest growing markets. The emerging economy is based on growing manufacturing prowess, a reducing reliance on commodity and extractive industries and a shift towards consumption.This frontier market has an attractive growth profile, having generated GDP growth of 6.7% in 2015 powered by a young, well-educated and growing workforce.Average GDP growth over the past 20

In a volatile and challenging world, many markets remain deeply troubled. Vietnam is arguably a gleaming exception. Its economy and markets continue to provide fertile ground for the value investor.Vietnam has historically defied the trends of both emerging and developed markets around the world. Its real GDP continued to grow at over 5% per year as the rest of the world collapsed in the US-origin

'Vietnam is bigger than Germany, and soon it will be more important than Germany too,' says Jeurg Vontobel who can't resist a friendly dig at his Swiss-German compatriots as he outlines the investment case for VietNam Holding (VNH:AIM), the investment fund he set up in June 2006.Like all jokes, it contains a kernel of truth. Vietnam has an export-led economy and a larger population than Germany. I

America's Dow Jones Industrials index stands proudly at an all-time peak and our very own FTSE 100 is nudging toward 6,500 for the first time in six years. Boosted by plentiful central-bank provided liquidity and rampant merger and acquisition activity (see Cover, Shares, 21 Feb) investors are firmly in 'risk on' mode, as tempting equity valuations prove irresistible relative to meagre Government

Asia offers investors valuable upside exposure to the prospect of a global economic recovery. But the region's domestic consumption-driven growth plays should also fare well if the green shoots in the US and Europe wither again.There can be no denying the People's Republic of China's (PRC) manufacturing-dominated economy lies at the mercy of the world economy, as does industrialised Asia constitut

Ride the Vietnamese stock market recovery via Vietnam Holding (VNH:AIM). Additional monetary easing designed to spur flagging economic growth is likely to drive the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange's benchmark VN Index higher even after an 8.6% one-week gain to start the year.At its last monetary policy meeting (21 Dec '12) the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reduced its key discount rate from 8% to 7% and