Vietnam today looks a lot like the China I got to know.

Over the past twelve months I've been to Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Each visit was an eye-opener.

Cranes everywhere. Holes in the ground. Building sites on every other block. And people everywhere, working hard and on the move.

I've seen it before. I visited China regularly from 1989 to 2019 and watched it build itself the same way. The parallels are hard to miss.

The numbers say the same thing. Vietnam's economy grew 9.95% in the third quarter, its fastest in four years. It has 102 million people with a median age of 34. In September, FTSE Russell moved it up to emerging market status, so index funds that couldn't hold the market before will buy in over the next year.

It left me with one question. How do investors get access to a growth story like this?

That's why I'm starting this newsletter. Every two weeks, one short story from the ground in Vietnam, and why it matters. Most will come from people who live there, Vietnamese and newcomers alike, who see the changes before they show up in the data.

Thirty years in China taught me to watch the cranes. In Vietnam, they're everywhere.

PS. Next time: the empty land across the river from Saigon's old centre, and the local who pointed at it and said, "That's our Pudong." If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here. It's free, and it arrives every two weeks.

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back in your inbox in two weeks. If you have any thoughts or comments, just hit "Reply" – I'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

David Thomas

​APAC Financial Services​

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