VietNamNet Bridge – Despite tensions in the East Sea, renowned investment consultant Marc Faber still believes Vietnam is an ideal place for investors.

Speaking at a Vietnam Investment Forum (VIF) late last week in HCM City, Faber said that the Vietnamese market had been growing well since 2010 with a stable growth rate of over 15 percent, despite many difficulties.

Faber began making investments in Vietnam in the 1990s and they have all been profitable projects.

He invested money in Furama Resort in the central coastal city of Da Nang, and then developed Nam Hai Resorts through an investment fund managed by Indochina Capital.

Now he is chair of Indochina Capital and Vietnam Growth Fund managed by Dragon Capital. He is also a shareholder of the Hyatt Hotel in Vietnam.

“Vietnam has an attractive investment environment. Vietnam’s economy has been affected by the tensions with China in the East Sea. But I believe Vietnamese and Chinese diplomats will find a way to ease the tensions. I will continue investing in Vietnam,” he said.

Commenting about developed countries, Marc thinks these economies have reached a peak of economic development have become saturated.

Newly emerging economies, including Vietnam, will become more attractive, while  he US bond value will fall.

While the growth rate of the G20 markets has decreased from 50 percent to 30 percent, the rate in newly emerged markets, including Vietnam, has increased from 50 percent to 70 percent.

Marc does not think that the Chinese investment slowdown and the sharp decreases in the VN Index in recent days due to East Sea tensions will be a big problem for Vietnam.

The investor said that he had witnessed worse sell-offs, and believes that the Vietnamese market is still operating under normal conditions, and that the Vietnamese stock market growth is still better than the US S&P 500 and Russel 2000.

The economic recession in Vietnam lasting since 2007 is minor compared with the world’s crisis. Vietnam is believed to be a country which can settle its problems best among developing economies, he said.

Vietnam, with great advantages to boost exports and develop tourism, will be a very attractive destination for investors.

Regarding the tensions in the East Sea, Marc thinks that the tensions will escalate in the time to come.

Chinese leaders’ top priority is to find oil and metal for 1.4 billion Chinese, so the East Sea problem with Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan will continue.

However, the world’s economy will still be moving.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was very good in 1973, but then dropped sharply. From 1970-1980, the Japanese stock index rose by 20 times. At that time, the market’s capitalization value accounted for 20 percent of the world’s total value. And the US has been a strong economic power as well.

However, these sharp increases are no longer seen in these markets, while they have appeared in South Korea, China and Vietnam.

VNE