A nice reminder from Stockerblog not to forget Vietnam in all the excitement/press related to China, India, etc. As the article points out, there is a lot of activity in Vietnam right now. For example, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange just announced a partnership which involves sharing of investment and technology information and might lead to cross listings of stocks on both stock exchanges. Intel has committed $1 billion to build a 500,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Vietnam which should be completed by 2009, and employ up to 4,000 people.

Some individual Vietnamese companies noted in the article comprise:

 

• Tienphong Plastic Joint Stock Company (HST:NTP) plastic pipe manufacturer
• Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment (HCM:CII) infrastructure development
• Phuong Nam Culture Joint Stock Corp. (HCM:PNC) media company
• Tuong An Vegetable Oil Joint Stock Co (HCM:TAC) food products
• Do Thanh Technology Corp. (HCM:DTT) plastic products

However, the report also lists other ways of investing in Vietnam stocks, including:

• The Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VTOPF.PK) (VOF.L), one of the largest Vietnam closed end funds, and it trades on both the Pink Sheets in the United States and on the London Stock Exchange.
• Vietnam Holding Ltd. (VNMHF.PK) (VNH.L), another closed end investment fund managed by Vietnam Holding Asset Management Ltd., with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It also trades on both the Pink and the London Stock Exchange. They invest primarily in privatized State Owned Enterprises.
• A way to play the Vietnam real estate market is through the London Stock Exchange traded SGL Vietnam Development Limited (SGLV.L), a closed end company which invests in Vietnamese real estate.