HO CHI MINH CITY -- Toshifumi Sugimoto, senior executive officer of Capital Asset Management, started the morning of Sept. 23 in Ho Chi Minh City with a hasty call to a trader in Japan. He put in a buy order for as many shares of major Vietnamese IT company FPT as possible, having just learned that its foreign-owned stake was up for sale.

Forty years after reunification, Vietnam has made an international name for itself as a manufacturing powerhouse. But the ownership ratios for many Vietnamese companies are still capped at 49%, so when those stakes go up for sale, competition to snap them up is fierce. In the case of FPT, Sugimoto said, an instant decision was crucial. He was proved right: All 2 million shares being offered were sold before noon.

Triple strength

Surging interest from investors is a common feature of Asia's VIP markets -- Vietnam, India and the Philippines -- which are drawing greater attention as global growth continues to disappoint.

Much of the excitement about India comes from the sheer size of its market. The country has a population of 1.3 billion, and demand-oriented businesses, such as medicine and smartphones, are thriving. Narayana Hrudayalaya, which made an initial public offering in January, offers affordable medical services. Using prefabricated hospitals and other cost-cutting measures, the company can provide heart operations at prices that are around half the average in India. The company's share price has risen 30% since its IPO.

The Philippines, meanwhile, is taking advantage of having English as one of its official languages to nurture the business process outsourcing industry. With the growth of the middle class, "domestic demand-based industries such as infrastructure development and retail are rapidly growing," said Micaela Abaquita, an analyst at securities company CLSA Philippines.

One of the beneficiaries is real estate developer SM Prime Holdings. Its Mall of Asia shopping complex, located some 6km from central Manila, covers 420,000 sq. meters, making it one of the largest malls in Asia. SM Prime's revenue in 2015 stood at 71.5 billion pesos ($1.48 billion), up 8% on the year. Investors are buying into the developer's growth potential, pushing up its share prices by 30% since the start of the year.

The benchmark stock index in Manila hit its all-time high in July, while the key indexes in the other two VIP countries matched their year-to-date highs in September. This robust performance stands in sharp contrast to Tokyo, where it has fallen more than 10% since the end of December.

A big draw for investors is the growing spending power of consumers in the VIP markets. With per capita gross domestic product in the three countries nearing the $3,000 threshold, more and more people are able to afford cars, home appliances and other big-ticket items. The Philippines and Vietnam, though well behind India in terms of population, each have nearly 100 million people. The middle classes in all three countries are expected to continue expanding for decades to come, with an nearly immeasurable impact on the economy.

Changes in government are also expected to give a boost to economic development. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June, promises to invest more in infrastructure. Although he makes headlines mostly for his incendiary comments and controversial war on drugs, investors have high hopes that he will be able to carry out what he has promised, said Masato Horie at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting.

Published Date:2016-10-13