Vietnam's booming stock exchange attracts attention at APEC summit - article from IHT 14/11

The market is emblematic of Vietnam's overall economy: energetic, fast-growing and still in the early stages of its development. It poses greater risks to investors than a more advanced economy, but also the promise of great returns.

"You'd have to go quite a long way to find a stock market that's grown 10 times in 10 months, even though it started from a very small base," said Dominic Scriven of Dragon Capital, which manages an US$860 million investment fund in Vietnam. "And it probably will have grown 15 times by the end of the year."

When it opened six years ago, the market was the laughingstock of Southeast Asia. Few companies were listed, and foreign investors kept their distance. But it has taken off in the last couple of years, attracting the attention of investment firms such as Credit Suisse and Citigroup.

"Vietnam is beginning to deliver on a decade of promise," a recent Merrill Lynch report said.

Vietnam has approved a new securities law that Scriven called "a huge leap forward." Effective Jan. 1, it will clarify investment rules and bring more transparency to the market, though still not as much as in developed countries.