HLG Unit Trust Launches 'Invest in Vietnam' Campaign

Online, October 21, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Kuala Lumpur, 19 October 2009 - HLG Unit Trust Bhd (HLG UT) in partnership with Vietnam Asset Management Ltd (VAM) has launched the "Invest in Vietnam" campaign. Under this campaign, investors would have the opportunity to leverage on the rapid growth of the Vietnam market, through the well-established HLG Vietnam Fund.

"Vietnam is Asia's rising star that is attracting investors from around the globe. This is because Vietnam's budding export sector and fast expanding consumer market makes Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate one of the region's most exciting in recent times," said Mr Teo Chang Seng, Acting CEO and Executive Director of HLG Unit Trust Bhd. "As such, we are pleased to launch our "Invest in Vietnam" campaign as an avenue for investors to gain access to this vibrant and fast-expanding market," Teo added. HLG Asset Management is the external investment manager while HLG Unit Trust is the manager for the HLG Vietnam Fund.

Vietnam as the 'next China'

The "Invest in Vietnam" campaign has been specially conceived in view of the high growth potential of the Vietnam market in the long run. According to Mr Nguyen Xuan Minh, CFA, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Vietnam Asset Management, this positive growth is supported by Vietnam's intact fundamentals, namely attractive demographics, political stability and a dynamic economy. "Being one of very few countries worldwide that did not enter into recession this year, Vietnam is expected to get back to its pre-crisis GDP growth level of about 8% for the coming years," said Nguyen. Vietnam Asset Management is the appointed external foreign investment manager, delegated to manage the Fund's investments in the Vietnamese equity market.

"Vietnam equity market still has plenty of room for growth given enormous potential in the over-the-counter and privatization segments. The current rally of the Vietnam stock market reflects the ongoing recovery picture for Vietnam's economy and corporate earnings. We expect the uptrend will continue into the coming years although there will likely be corrections along the way as the market is still driven largely by retail investors," Nguyen continued.

HLG Vietnam Fund

With Vietnam's positive market outlook, HLG Unit Trust and Vietnam Asset Management are proud to offer investors an opportunity to ride on the growth of this rising star through HLG Vietnam Fund. Launched in February 2008, the HLG Vietnam Fund has charted impressive returns - as at 23 September 2009, the Fund has recorded a 87.78% return for its 6-months performance and a 80.38% return since its inception (20 months).

HLG Vietnam Fund is a wholesale equity and growth fund that is created to invest in equity and equity-related securities of companies that are based in Vietnam or have substantial operations, sales or asset exposure to the economy, assets or currency of Vietnam. The Fund intends to invest across a broad range of industries, which includes but is not limited to banking and financials, consumer, health care, energy, materials and resources, industrials, real estate, telecommunications and utilities.

The Fund is appropriate for investors who are seeking capital growth from the investment exposure to Vietnam over the long-term. The asset allocation for the HLG Vietnam Fund would be a minimum of 70% into equities and equity-related securities in Vietnam and a maximum of 30% into fixed income investments. Minimum initial investment for HLG Vietnam Fund is RM 50,000 while the minimum additional investment is RM 50,000. The performance of the Fund is benchmarked against Vietnam (Capital Return) Index.

HLG Unit Trust's "Invest in Vietnam" Campaign

"We are delighted to launch our "Invest in Vietnam" campaign as a channel for investors to gain exposure to the Vietnam market. We understand that investors are becoming even more sophisticated and discerning. As such, we tailor our product offerings according to market situation and demand," said Mr Geoffrey Ng, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of HLG Asset Management Sdn Bhd.

The campaign is also expected to receive an encouraging demand from investors. "We are confident that this Fund will be well-received by investors as our Fund's performance figures speak for themselves. We are optimistic of generating RM50 million in sales from this Fund via our "Invest in Vietnam" campaign. We are also pleased to collaborate with Vietnam Asset Management for this campaign. With this partnership, HLG Unit Trust would be able to leverage on Vietnam Asset Management's strong expertise in the local Vietnamese market. In other words, our investors would be able to capitalise on this advantage as well," Ng added.

Nguyen concurred, "We have been focusing on what we do best, which is to hunt for good bargains and undervalued assets through our extensive network and expertise in local market. Our dedicated and highly skilled indigenous team have been and will keep striving for the benefits of investors as we have committed, which is proven by the excellent performance of the Fund since inception."

To promote the campaign, HLG Unit Trust is organising a series of roadshows nationwide in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Melaka, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in October 2009. Experts on Vietnam market investment comprise key personnel from Vietnam Asset Management, represented by Mr John Lyn, Executive Chairman; Ms Nguyen Hoai Thu*, CFA, Investment Director; Mr Peter Walsh*, Head of Business Development and Mr Nguyen Xuan Minh will be featured at selected locations to provide first-hand information on Vietnam's market outlook. This event also aims to be a value-added information platform for customers of HLG Unit Trust.

The "Invest in Vietnam" campaign is exclusively available through HLG Unit Trust's agency force as well as selected Institutional Unit Trust Agents (IUTA) namely, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and The Royal Bank of Scotland Bhd.

About HLG Unit Trust Bhd

Incorporated on October 5 1994, HLG Unit Trust Bhd is an established unit trust management company, and a member of the Hong Leong Group. Its core business is the management of unit trust funds.

The company already manages 36 unit trust funds to date, which are distributed nationwide through multiple channels. Direct and channel distribution activities are supported by the HLG Unit Trust Bhd's strategic nationwide sales support infrastructure. This includes our headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and six sales support offices nationwide in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

As at 30 September 2009, HLG Unit Trust Bhd has a combined total fund size of RM 2.89 billion.

About Vietnam Asset Management Limited

Vietnam Asset Management Ltd ("VAM") is a fund management company primarily engaged in public and private equity investment and advisory services in Vietnam. VAM offers both open-ended and close-ended funds to offshore investors, including institutional and retail investors across Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East.

An active bottom-up asset manager, VAM is dedicated to picking winners out of listed, OTC and pre-listing companies through rigorous fundamental analysis and cash flow-based valuations. Leveraging on over 50 years of international investment experience and local presence of the indigenous team, VAM has built up strong coverage of the Vietnam market, having thoroughly analysed approximately 80% of the listed market by market capitalisation.

VAM's strategic investors include UOB Kay Hian and Dubai Ventures Group. As of September 2009, VAM manages 4 Vietnam funds with a total Asset Under Management of about US$40 million.

- E n d -