Vietnam stock market sees selective opportunities

The backdrop is constructive. Vietnam’s economy appears to be maintaining positive growth momentum after nine months of data showed broad support from business activity, foreign direct investment and manufacturing. That gives the market a firmer fundamental base than a simple speculative rally. If the economy keeps expanding, corporate revenues and profits should have room to follow, which ultimately supports equity valuations over time.

At the same time, the market is still in a transition. Vietnam already has more than 14 million securities accounts, a sign that participation has widened dramatically. But Khánh argues that reaching 20 million or even 40 million accounts will take time, alongside a deeper product set that moves from plain-vanilla stocks toward derivatives, funds, index products and goal-based investing. In other words, the market is becoming more mature, but it is not there yet.

That gap helps explain why cash flow remains uneven. Investors are still being selective, and that is exactly why stock-picking matters. Khánh pointed to port operators, deep-water port businesses, shipping firms and chemicals companies as examples of groups where some names continue to show solid growth despite a choppy market. He highlighted companies in Hai Phong and deep-water port operations as particularly notable. For long-term investors, that is a useful reminder that sector leadership can persist even when the broader market is consolidating.

The broader investment case is simple: Vietnam’s capital markets still rely heavily on bank funding, while the stock and bond markets have not yet reached their full potential. If policymakers, brokers and asset managers can improve financial literacy, raise listing quality and broaden investable products, more household savings could migrate into capital markets. That would be a structural tailwind for liquidity, valuations and the long-run earnings power of listed companies.

There is a lesson here for investors in any market. The best returns usually come from owning businesses with durable cash generation and clear competitive advantages, not from trying to guess when the next burst of market-wide money will arrive. Vietnam’s stock market may still be uneven, but the long-term setup remains intact — and that makes selective exposure worth watching, or buying patiently for years, not months.