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BTA
26-05-2008, 07:26 AM
Healthcare stocks have
moved to centre stage, receiving increasing investor attention in recent weeks.




"Healthcare enterprises always
post steady profits, even when the economy faces tough times," said Bien
Viet Securities Co deputy director Vu Duc Nghia.


The Viet Capital Fund Management Co
has also opened a fund dedicated to the sector. The Viet Capital Healthcare Fund
targets investments in pharmaceutical, hospital/high-tech clinic, medical device
and hospital service stocks.


The fund has total capital in the
first stage of VND500 billion (US$31.25 million) with potential for further
expansion and is currently open to domestic institutional investors which are
reputable enterprises or financial institutions.


"The fund aims not only for
long-term, sustainable profits with minimised risks for our investors, but also
for opening up a new direction in areas with significant socio-economic
benefits," said fund director Pham Gia Tuan. "It will also encourage
the introduction of state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment technology
accompanied by high quality services for the Vietnamese people, reducing the
burden on the public health sector."


According to analysts of the Viet
Capital Fund Management Co, national spending on healthcare in Viet Nam is lower
than in other nations, suggesting high potential for this sector’s further
development.


Spending on healthcare in Viet Nam
is only 1.48 per cent of GDP, while in Thailand it’s 6 per cent and in the US,
15.3 per cent.


Stock brokerages have also found
that price-per-earning ratios for healthcare stock were currently around 24,
compared to a total market average of 12-13.


"This rate is promising for
investors in the future," Nghia said.


An anonimous teacher from the
National Economic University noted that the high P/E rate was not decisive for
the change of investors into healthcare stocks.


"Traders may be afraid of
earning money from hot stocks like property or banking, and then losing
it," he said. "Then they change to healthcare stocks."


Domestic pharmaceutical producers
were still overdependent on imported materials, making it hard to keep a lid on
drug prices, he said.


"But despite that,
pharmaceutical enterprises still have a stable market which is enough to ensure
investors a steady profit. Less is sometimes more."