Stocks shine as investors shrug off China exposure

Emerging market: People walk past the stock exchange in Hanoi. Foreigners bought, on a net basis, around US$48mil in Vietnamese stocks in January. — Reuters

HANOI: Vietnam’s stock market is running ahead of its neighbours and pulling a trickle of foreign investment for the first time in months, as its banks bounce back from a credit crunch and the economy charts a path through China’s slowdown.

The benchmark index is up almost 9% this year and nearly as much in US dollar terms to put it ahead of regional peers such as Malaysia or the Philippines as well as the S&P 500.