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Vietnam top choice for investment
JP
Morgan Chase Bank has forecast Vietnam’s
economy will continue to grow stronger this
year and the country will become a top
choice in the region for investors.
David G. Fernandez, managing
director of JP Morgan Chase Bank in
Singapore, said Vietnam will be the number
one (finance market) in his priority list
for investment in 2007. The Vietnamese
market has sent out a positive signal for
investors and the bank and its clients could
increase investment in the country.
Fernandez, who visited Vietnam
six times last year to make a country report
on Vietnam’s investment environment, said
during his recent visit that the local
capital market would undergo a lot of
changes this year with more companies to
issue and trade bonds on the stock market.
There are signs of an economy
picking up steadily and growing attractive
to foreign investors, he said. Three years
ago, the bank’s clients were interested in
foreign currency bonds issued in Vietnam but
they now pay attention to those issued in
Vietnamese dong, as the local market is
buoyed by two factors: softer interest rates
and stronger dong. He forecast the local
currency will rise in 2007 and appreciate
about 0.5% against the U.S. dollar.
According to Fernandez, with
its WTO membership, Vietnam can attract
foreign investors through its more liberal
policies and the country will become an
emerging finance market for foreign
investors.
Vietnam’s economy is forecast
to grow 8.3-8.5% this year against 8.2%
achieved in 2006.
Source: The Saigon
Times Weekly (January 1, 2007)
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