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TAQ1111.003 PXP Vietnam to start hedge fund next year
PXP Vietnam Asset Management, which oversees 225 million USD, plans to start a hedge fund by early next year, said co-founder Kevin Snowball.
The PXP Vietnam Value Fund will raise as much as 200 million USD to invest in undervalued stocks. PXP, the initials of the highest mountain Phan Xi Pang in Vietnam, is betting that the stock market will recover as inflation eases and the nation's trade deficit widens at a slower pace.
The benchmark Vietnam Index may double to 750 by the end of 2009, Snowball said.
“In the long term, the story's intact,'” Snowball said in an interview in Ho Chi Minh City. “As long as the government handles the development of the economy and the market correctly - so far they're doing a very good job -- then I think we're fine.”
According to the Bloomberg biz news, the index of 163 companies traded on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange has lost about 60 percent this year, the biggest decline in Asia after China. It is set to rise to 500 by the end of the year “given continued diminishing volatility globally and macroeconomic stability,” he added.
The Vietnam Value Fund will be PXP's first open-ended fund, allowing investors to withdraw their money after a one-year lock- in, with restrictions on what can be redeemed at once. The fund will have the flexibility to use hedging when and where available, and if the manager feels it appropriate taking pricing and market conditions into account, Snowball said, adding that PXP will start small and then build its performance record before a full launch by early 2009.
PXP, set up six years ago by Snowball and Jonathon Waugh, currently manages three closed-end funds listed in Ireland that invest in publicly traded Vietnamese companies and those preparing to list on the stock exchange.
VNA
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