For Vietnamese stock investors, the return from the Lunar New Year break has been almost as bad as for their Chinese counterparts

For Vietnamese stock investors, the return from the Lunar New Year break has been almost as bad as for their Chinese counterparts.

Mounting concerns that trade disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak will have a deep impact on the Southeast Asian nation have pushed the benchmark VN Index down more than 6% since Jan. 30. That’s the world’s worst plunge after the slide in Chinese shares. The Vietnamese gauge is down 9.4% from a November high, and is still mired in a bear market that began in 2018.

“Vietnam’s push towards international trade connectivity in modern times has turned it into an essential global value-chain hub, especially in the manufacturing sector,” SSI Securities analysts said. “Hence, any major global disruptions from other key suppliers such as China could pose a big threat to growth here.”
The Vietnamese benchmark never recovered from the plunge that sent it into a bear market in 2018. It’s 23% away from the record high hit in April that year, and the impact of the new virus may further impede any potential rebound.