VIETNAM WEALTH MANAGEMENT FORUM 2023

Setting the Scene for the 2023 Vietnam Wealth Management Forum

The Journey Continues 

Hubbis sub-titled the 2022 Vietnam Wealth Management Forum ‘The Journey has just Begun’. And for 2023 our sub-title is ‘The Journey Continues’. Why? Because the growth and diversification has surprised us and also many of the incumbents and the would-be competitors in the country’s rapidly expanding wealth management industry. And the experts are projecting another year of roubst growth in 2023, on top of the anticipated full year 2022 expansion of more than 7%.

Vietnam is home to more nearly 100 million people – the 14th largest population in the world – and the people are young, educated, and eager to work and succeed. These highly appealing demographics are proving a magnet for the growing number of global and international companies moving to Vietnam in recent years and bringing with them both large amounts of FDI and also technology and expertise.

With low labour costs (roughly a third of those in China), with improving infrastructure, and dynamic development policies, Vietnam is quickly becoming the new workshop for the world as a manufacturing hub for goods ranging from furniture and footwear to home appliances and mobile phones.

The country’s middle class of nearly 33 million people is expanding thanks to new work opportunities and rapid urbanisation, creating ever-growing demand across all consumer sectors: from property and construction materials to technology to consumer goods and services. As the economies grows and diversifies apace, so too the capital markets are expanding and the range of investment opportunities growing all the time.

To briefly summarise the key appeals, the country almost 100 million people and they are young, the middle class is 33 million and becoming increasingly educated and urbanised, the nation has robust political stability with broad support for the one-party system. Education is good an improving with a literacy rate of 95%. Technology adoption is high and rising. The internet economy is growing at almost 30% compound annually. There continues to be room for fiscal adaptability by the regulators. Renewable energy is sharply on the rise, and there are some exciting and key export sectors that include: Smartphones & Accessories, Textiles & Footwear, Computers & Electrical Products and Machinery & Equipment.

The wealth management market has wind in its sails

Accordingly, it is little surprise that the consensus amongst the experts that Hubbis speaks to on a regular basis is one of considerable optimism for the economy and of measured optimism for the wealth market, aligned with a vivid realism that Vietnam’s wealth market still has many years of catching up to nearby countries such as Thailand.

Building a sustainable wealth management business in any country, especially one that is today considered a frontier market on its way to becoming an emerging market, is challenging. It means drawing together the optimal range of products and services, building teams and expertise, defining and executing strategies that work for the market, then achieving outstanding delivery and enhancing the user experience. These challenges, and numerous others, are never easy to overcome.

But in a country of nearly 100 million people and with investors numbering just around 3% of those people, the upside is truly colossal. Even after millions of new accounts were opened in recent years, investors represent only a tiny portion of the working age population. Asset management is only really at the beginning of its journey in Vietnam, the middle classes and the NextGens are only just experimenting with financial market investments.

Indeed, Vietnam’s wealth management market is growing, encouraged by powerful economic growth, regulatory changes, the increasing expertise and drive of local professionals, rising private wealth across all segments, retail banks and securities firms upgrading and enhancing their platforms and propositions, and the fledgling asset management industry slowly developing new investment options.

All these issues and developments are bringing diversity and opportunity as Vietnam’s private clients – from the fast-growing ranks mass affluent to the rising numbers of HNWIs and even UHNWIs - demand more variety and more sophisticated solutions. But where exactly is the wealth and investment market there today, where has it come from, and where is it heading and at what pace?

And of course, digitisation is taking place at a remarkable pace, as banks and other competitors seek to boost their efficiencies, their client connectivity and personalisation, enhance productivity and build scale.

These vital topics, and many other issues besides, will be covered in detail and with verve by our expert speakers, presenters and panellists at the Vietnam Wealth Management Forum on November 8, 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City.

And remember, to give you even more understanding of what you can expect from the 2023 event, you can click this link to view the full Agenda and list of Speakers from our very successful 2022 Vietnam event. CLICK HERE