Cashing in on Vietnam's Boom Won't be Easy
Barron's June 14, 2019
Vietnam is an ascendant nation. Economic growth is cruising at 6% to 7% annually, powered by an export sector ranging from T-shirts to smartphones. (Samsung makes most of its handsets there.) The population of 97 million is young (median age 31), cheap to hire, and offers “the best-positioned workforce in Southeast Asia from an educational perspective,” says Sriyan Pietersz, an investment strategist at Matthews Asia.
“The investment thesis is simple,” he adds. “This is a classic emerging markets story.” And oh, yeah, multinationals spooked by the trade war on China can move production to Vietnam, hopefully out of harm’s way.