Monthly Investor Report

RNS Number : 2665V

VietNam Holding Limited

13 April 2021

 

VietNam Holding Limited ("VNH" or the "Company")

Monthly Investor Report

A report detailing the activities of the Company for the month of March 2021 has been issued by Dynam Capital Limited, the investment manager of the Company. Electronic copies of the report have been made available to shareholders on the Company's website  and a summary of the report is included below.

Unmuting the sustainability discussion in Vietnam

The pandemic has accelerated many global trends, and the increasing importance of investing for a more sustainable future is one gaining much momentum in Vietnam. Although environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria have been fully integrated into VNH's investment process for over a decade now, we're seeing a new wave of forces moving sustainability up the Board agenda in Vietnam as more investors and regulators wake up to the urgencies of climate change and its material impact on people and the planet. As a responsible investor and pioneer of ESG investing in Vietnam, we appreciate how integral our stewardship role for each of our investee companies is in helping them achieve their sustainability goals. This is why we are pleased to reveal the findings of our latest independent carbon footprint assessment, which shows that our portfolio was 41% less carbon intensive than its benchmark, the VN All Share Index, for each US$100 invested in the year ending December 31st 2019.

The assessment was conducted by Vietnam Energy and Environment (VNEEC), a climate change specialist firm in Ha Noi City, which established that the carbon footprint of the VNH portfolio is 18,003 tCO2e compared with an investment of the same size in VN All Share being 30,396 tCO2e. It is essential that we track our progress in low-carbon investing and keep a pulse on how companies across sectors are dealing with upcoming regulations on reporting on GHG emissions and reductions. VNEEC, which uses an internationally recognised methodology for the reports, will release the findings for 2020 in June. With exports growing fast and a US$2 bn trade surplus continuing in March 2021, Vietnam is making more of a name for itself in global value chains. As such, companies will be under greater pressure by stakeholders to be more transparent about their ESG risks.

In addition, the government - with its new leadership announced - has revised the Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) with more detailed provisions on climate change, including promoting climate change mitigation and regulating the roadmap for Vietnam's pledge to reduce GHG. The revisions, which come into effect later this year, were a must for conforming to recent trade agreements and other socio-economic commitments made over the past year in particular. One of our more recent investments is HSC, the first broker in Vietnam to produce a research report on ESG in August 2020. It explored how companies that are more ESG aware have better supply chain resilience and corporate governance. "It stands to reason that companies which are focused on the long-term are better managers of investors' capital, more able to minimise volatility and risk in their operations and therefore better positioned to generate longer-term returns," the report stated. We share this view and believe that our ESG approach and analysis of financial and non-financial risks enables us to better understand how a company creates and delivers value for its stakeholders now and into the future. According to the International Monetary Fund, Vietnam's GDP growth forecast is still set to reach 6.5% in 2021, and economic indicators from March show that manufacturing continues to recover strongly. Nevertheless, the IMF is one of many also saying that Vietnam needs to catch up on the sustainable infrastructure front and roll out more reforms aligned with the UN's SDGs if it is to continue attracting new foreign players. We are seeing more opportunities for SDG investment in Vietnam, in this respect, particularly in transport infrastructure, green real estate, and improved digital access. In our view, ESG is already becoming less of a trend and more mainstream for companies everywhere in the world if they are to survive the fast-changing landscape this decade brings.

The Fund's NAV for March was up +1.1% and +10.4% for Q1 2021. Since the start of the financial year in July 2020, the NAV per share has risen 53.1%.

For more information please contact:

Dynam Capital Limited  

Craig Martin  Tel: [phone]

[e-mail] | www.dynamcapital.com

www.vietnamholding.com

finnCap

Corporate Broker and Financial Advisor     Tel: [phone] 

William Marle / Giles Rolls

 

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