Vietnam stock index (VNI) is outperforming its regional peers so far this year, marking a stark turnaround after finishing at the world’s worst-performing market last year.
The VN Index rallied 9.8% from January this year as foreigners returned. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) made several rounds of easing measures this year. The recent action was on June 16 that the central bank cut the electronic interbank rate to 5%, the refinance rate to 4.5%, and the discount rate to 3%.
SBV bucked the trend among regional central banks by cutting lending rates early to boost growth and reduce financial costs for companies.
Looking at YTD returns, VNI outshined regional markets at 9.63%, while the runner up was Singapore Straits Times with 2.35%. Those are the only two in a positive territory as Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines are all in negative territory.
