BSC Vietnam Stock Market: Seek pros and cons from those active in it

My friend....being from North America...i would not give a pinch with these Vnese stocks. I have had known people working at major banks and insitutions there that is rife with bribes, corruption, and even faking documents all the way up to the directorships to cook the books. When things go wrong, they burn documents and cover ups. Now, would you like to burn your money there? I would not give it a pinch of salt. They don't have the same standard of accountability as we do. Ceo's & Directors there go to jail...it was worth every penny that they stolen and do couple of years for their crime. Just read the news at https://e.vnexpress.net/

TimHortonMuffin wrote:

My friend....being from North America...i would not give a pinch with these Vnese stocks. I have had known people working at major banks and insitutions there that is rife with bribes, corruption, and even faking documents all the way up to the directorships to cook the books. When things go wrong, they burn documents and cover ups. Now, would you like to burn your money there? I would not give it a pinch of salt. They don't have the same standard of accountability as we do. Ceo's & Directors there go to jail...it was worth every penny that they stolen and do couple of years for their crime. Just read the news at https://e.vnexpress.net/

That link doesnt to to any particular story, it just goes to the home page.

HI Colinoscapee...here's one example done by a state bank employee:

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/court … 52338.html

Another case is:

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietn … 57282.html

In short, there are so many frauds..big or small occurring at the business level. I don't think there is a single business in VN that is completely clean of corruption.

Investor Beware.

If you really want to invest in Vietnamese industry, you might consider spreading your risk with an ETF sold in NY like VNM.  I think there are one or two others but I don't recall the names right now.

TimHortonMuffin wrote:

My friend....being from North America...i would not give a pinch with these Vnese stocks. I have had known people working at major banks and insitutions there that is rife with bribes, corruption, and even faking documents all the way up to the directorships to cook the books. When things go wrong, they burn documents and cover ups. Now, would you like to burn your money there? I would not give it a pinch of salt. They don't have the same standard of accountability as we do. Ceo's & Directors there go to jail...it was worth every penny that they stolen and do couple of years for their crime. Just read the news at https://e.vnexpress.net/

Dear Tim, I really appreciate the direct and "between the eyes" risk assessment of investing in the Vietnamese stock market and your conclusion of a razor-thin upside, even if that. If I were to invest in this market it would not be with "bet the farm" mindset. In fact, it would be with money that if lost would be without attachment or detrimental to my long-term goals.

With this being said, are you now active in the BSC market? Did you experience catastrophic losses because of graft and corruption you mention? Or, have you completed your due diligence and assessed the risk too high for the reasons stated above? Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

THIGV wrote:

If you really want to invest in Vietnamese industry, you might consider spreading your risk with an ETF sold in NY like VNM.  I think there are one or two others but I don't recall the names right now.

Thanks, THIGV, your advice is consistently similar to your post on this topic in 2016. I'm familiar with and have purchased prior ETFs positions with both healthy share price growth and monthly income distributions. When supported by analysts research these instruments can indeed spread risk as you indicate. My view, perhaps crude an uninformed is that all stock markets are the equivalent of legalized gambling. Given this, I'm willing to consider taking on BSC market risk with the potential of upside ROI...even at the risk of losing everything (which would not be financially or life crippling).

Hi Workplacestars, I am not currently active in the both the HOSE & HNX markets. I have insider informations from employees who worked at several corporations.

I understand that you have the mentality to being able to take excessive risks. However, that being said, is not a prudent investment approach. U should focus on one business line of the country and understand it well before investing. Just like what Warren Buffet has said numerous times.

Or, like what THIGV has said, you can take the EFT approach for merging economies for greater risks, returns are not gauranteed, but the beauty of it is you can dispose of ETF's like a stock whenever warranted.

I have my own unique set of challenges as they relate to expats and vnese laws in many situation keeps foreigners away from directly investing in the country.

Currently, I am doing the "wait & see approach" as there are so many issues the govt must rectify.

Follow the smart money.
Look at the neighbours,,Tokyo, HongKong, Shanghai .....they are multi TRILLION $ exchanges.

The VN exchange is barley a drop in the ocean compared to them.

All you read in the state controlled media here is how well VN is booming , land prices & construction going gangbusters......however business & personal bankruptcies are also going in the same direction🤓

Why aren’t the neighbours ( who know them well) putting the CASH on the line by buying stock in VN companies .?

They certainly come here with FDI to lease factories & pay people 45 cents an hour to assemble the electronics & sew clothes & sneakers together......and they do very well out of it.

But putting CASH transfers into the hands of VN controlled companies as a shareholder .......they don’t seem as keen do they.?

The size of the market here would indicate that.

PAW NOTE 🐾🐾
The above comments are the best Yogi could muster on this topic.
Unfortunately, Yogi wasn’t able to get down to a level of intelligence low enough to even begin to consider entering a conversation regarding the VN stock market.

.
   Yogi has wisdom beyond words...     
.

Bazza139 wrote:

.
   Yogi has wisdom beyond words...     
.

Wish I did Bazz.

Yogi has finally figured out that getting the “alleged” wisdom ONLY matters if you acquire it BEFORE you get to the puddles of poop in the road of life ahead of us.

I’ve certainly stepped in a few puddles along the way...🤓

🐾🐾🐾

When you invest in a stock market you are buying a share in the ownership of a company, with all the benefits and risks that entails.  I have invested in various markets for forty years and they all have risks--remember Worldcom and Enron in the US?  And there are endless stories of Chinese companies listed both at home and in the US with dodgy accounting practices and corrupt managers, e.g. Luckin Coffee just in the past couple of weeks.  However, if you are looking for growth, then the world's tech companies and frontier markets will provide that.  For the last ten years the larger companies in Vietnam have gradually improved their corporate governance and overall management.  While the smaller companies probably have more opportunities to defraud investors, the larger ones are under more scrutiny all the time.  Companies like Vinamilk, Military Bank, etc. seem to be well-managed and are becoming more shareholder friendly.  Also, after the recent sell-off the shares are relatively cheap on measures like P/E and  Price/Book.  In my opinion, if you stick to the larger caps and invest either through an ETF or a managed fund, you will probably do ok if you are a longer term investor.

richiv wrote:

When you invest in a stock market you are buying a share in the ownership of a company, with all the benefits and risks that entails.  I have invested in various markets for forty years and they all have risks--remember Worldcom and Enron in the US?  And there are endless stories of Chinese companies listed both at home and in the US with dodgy accounting practices and corrupt managers, e.g. Luckin Coffee just in the past couple of weeks.  However, if you are looking for growth, then the world's tech companies and frontier markets will provide that.  For the last ten years the larger companies in Vietnam have gradually improved their corporate governance and overall management.  While the smaller companies probably have more opportunities to defraud investors, the larger ones are under more scrutiny all the time.  Companies like Vinamilk, Military Bank, etc. seem to be well-managed and are becoming more shareholder friendly.  Also, after the recent sell-off the shares are relatively cheap on measures like P/E and  Price/Book.  In my opinion, if you stick to the larger caps and invest either through an ETF or a managed fund, you will probably do ok if you are a longer term investor.

So you have no personal experience investing in the Vietnam stock market?

You are providing your personal opinion without actually having experienced the risk?

I'm just trying to clarify.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

richiv wrote:

When you invest in a stock market you are buying a share in the ownership of a company, with all the benefits and risks that entails.  I have invested in various markets for forty years and they all have risks--remember Worldcom and Enron in the US?  And there are endless stories of Chinese companies listed both at home and in the US with dodgy accounting practices and corrupt managers, e.g. Luckin Coffee just in the past couple of weeks.  However, if you are looking for growth, then the world's tech companies and frontier markets will provide that.  For the last ten years the larger companies in Vietnam have gradually improved their corporate governance and overall management.  While the smaller companies probably have more opportunities to defraud investors, the larger ones are under more scrutiny all the time.  Companies like Vinamilk, Military Bank, etc. seem to be well-managed and are becoming more shareholder friendly.  Also, after the recent sell-off the shares are relatively cheap on measures like P/E and  Price/Book.  In my opinion, if you stick to the larger caps and invest either through an ETF or a managed fund, you will probably do ok if you are a longer term investor.

So you have no personal experience investing in the Vietnam stock market?

You are providing your personal opinion without actually having experienced the risk?

I'm just trying to clarify.

I think you may be reading in something that is not there.  This person did say that he [she?] had invested in several markets over a long period, even if he did not specifically say that he had invested in VN.  He then made some reasonable observations about the VN market.  My interpretation of his last sentence was that he had possibly invested in Vietnam based ETF's as I have.  Even if he has not, his observations are largely valid.  Every year, thousands of brokers advise on stocks that they do not personally own.

THIGV wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

richiv wrote:

When you invest in a stock market you are buying a share in the ownership of a company, with all the benefits and risks that entails.  I have invested in various markets for forty years and they all have risks--remember Worldcom and Enron in the US?  And there are endless stories of Chinese companies listed both at home and in the US with dodgy accounting practices and corrupt managers, e.g. Luckin Coffee just in the past couple of weeks.  However, if you are looking for growth, then the world's tech companies and frontier markets will provide that.  For the last ten years the larger companies in Vietnam have gradually improved their corporate governance and overall management.  While the smaller companies probably have more opportunities to defraud investors, the larger ones are under more scrutiny all the time.  Companies like Vinamilk, Military Bank, etc. seem to be well-managed and are becoming more shareholder friendly.  Also, after the recent sell-off the shares are relatively cheap on measures like P/E and  Price/Book.  In my opinion, if you stick to the larger caps and invest either through an ETF or a managed fund, you will probably do ok if you are a longer term investor.

So you have no personal experience investing in the Vietnam stock market?

You are providing your personal opinion without actually having experienced the risk?

I'm just trying to clarify.

I think you may be reading in something that is not there.  This person did say that he [she?] had invested in several markets over a long period, even if he did not specifically say that he had invested in VN.  He then made some reasonable observations about the VN market.  My interpretation of his last sentence was that he had possibly invested in Vietnam based ETF's as I have.  Even if he has not, his observations are largely valid.  Every year, thousands of brokers advise on stocks that they do not personally own.

Don't you ever get tired of running to the rescue of people who never call out for help?

Aren't you capable of making your own observations in this thread without having to piggyback off of my attempt to clarify something with him?

It's really a toxic way of communicating.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Don't you ever get tired of running to the rescue of people who never call out for help?

Only until you stop attacking people, particularly new members, for what you perceive as infractions of how you think everything should be on this site.  Perhaps you would like it if all new posts went through a pre-clearance process with you before being published.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

Aren't you capable of making your own observations in this thread without having to piggyback off of my attempt to clarify something with him?

Look back at my post #5 as well as the OP's acknowledgement of that post plus my more complete posting in 2016.  May I suggest that you read before you post.  Also I don't think you were seeking clarification in good faith.  Your post clearly had a critical tone to it

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

It's really a toxic way of communicating.

Speak for yourself.

Ok. To clarify, THIGV is correct. I have invested in the VN stock market, mainly using a variety of funds for over nine years. I have invested in large cap funds, mid-cap funds, and private hedge funds. I have met with many companies, attended investment seminars in Ho Chi Minh City several times, and interacted with various brokers and fund managers. It is a volatile market, reflecting the nature of the risks and the people involved. I have had years of substantial profit and years when I lost nearly all of that (like the last one), but I think if you invest in well managed funds for the long term the risk/reward is good. I would not try to choose individual stocks unless I had personal trust in management and spoke fluent Vietnamese. I hope this is clear enough...

richiv wrote:

Ok. To clarify, THIGV is correct. I have invested in the VN stock market, mainly using a variety of funds for over nine years. I have invested in large cap funds, mid-cap funds, and private hedge funds. I have met with many companies, attended investment seminars in Ho Chi Minh City several times, and interacted with various brokers and fund managers. It is a volatile market, reflecting the nature of the risks and the people involved. I have had years of substantial profit and years when I lost nearly all of that (like the last one), but I think if you invest in well managed funds for the long term the risk/reward is good. I would not try to choose individual stocks unless I had personal trust in management and spoke fluent Vietnamese. I hope this is clear enough...

Very clear, and thanks for expanding on your reply.

I don't hear you saying I offended you in any way so I won't apologize.

I personally appreciate your participation in the forum.

No worries... Thanks

richiv wrote:

No worries... Thanks

Unlike myself, you seem to be a real gentleman. 

My apologies for describing you as a new member when in fact you have been registered at this site since April of 2013, over seven years ago.

THIGV wrote:

...stop attacking people, particularly new members...

THIGV wrote:

richiv wrote:

No worries... Thanks

My apologies for describing you as a new member when in fact you have been registered at this site since April of 2013, over seven years ago.

Yep.