Stock Pick

Author: openjargon

  • Vietnam wants to take China’s place as a new factory of the world — but a $12 billion financial fraud case is getting in the way

    Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan looks on at a court in Ho Chi Minh city on April 11, 2024.
    Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan looks on at a court in Ho Chi Minh city on April 11, 2024.

    STR/AFP via Getty Images

    • Vietnamese real-estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for her role in a $12.5 billion fraud case.
    • Lan's fraud case is part of Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's corruption crackdown.
    • The anti-corruption campaign has impacted Vietnam's economy and investment climate.

    A mega-fraud case has rocked Vietnam, shining a spotlight on the emerging economy that is positioning itself as an alternative to China.

    On Thursday, Vietnamese real-estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for her role in a $12.5 billion fraud that took place over the course of a decade — which amounts to about 3% of the country's GDP. Prosecutors allege the damage from the fraud could reach $27 billion.

    Lan, the chairwoman of real-estate developer Van Thinh Phat Group, was arrested in 2022 over the fraud case. She was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and violating banking rules.

    Lan has denied the charges and intends to appeal, according to media reports.

    The high-profile fraud case has scandalized the country and is raising questions about the one-party state. Vietnam has emerged as a top location for manufacturing outside China as global companies seek to diversify their supply chains.

    For context on the scale of the Vietnam fraud case, consider the 1MDB case, which rocked Malaysia and the world when it started to unravel in 2015. In that scandal, investigators estimate senior officials stole $4.5 billion from the Malaysian state fund. The Lan case is looking at figures nearly three times that size.

    Foreign direct investment in Vietnam reached a record high of $36.6 billion in 2023, according to official data.

    Hanoi's corruption crackdown has hit Vietnam's economy

    Lan's fraud case is just one in Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's sweeping corruption crackdown.

    Notably, two Vietnamese presidents have resigned in two years amid the crackdown. The Vietnamese Communist Party did not specify the reasons for their resignations, but they have been linked to the country's anti-graft campaign.

    The so-called "Blazing Furnace" corruption crackdown has hit investment and market sentiment as investors question if Hanoi can secure the integrity of its banking system, bond market, and economy amid the country's rapid economic growth. Vietnam's GDP grew 5.05% in 2023 and 8.0% in 2022.

    "The government regulators are overwhelmed," Zachary Abuza, a Southeast Asian expert at the National War College in Washington DC, told Bloomberg in March. "They can't keep up with the growth of the economy. Look at the volumes of money pouring into the country. They just don't have the manpower. And they're so poorly paid."

    Foreign investors have been "cautious" since news of Lan's case broke, Trang Bui, the country head of Cushman and Wakefield, a commercial real-estate services firm, said at a press conference in December, per Nikkei.

    Vietnam's benchmark VN-Index tanked 33% in 2023 on the back of the anti-corruption campaign. It is up 12% this year to date.

    For now, government officials are scrutinizing approvals for licenses and projects, slowing down bureaucratic processes even more.

    "Especially now, everyone is scared," Bui said, per Nikkei. "It's a big cleanup."

    Read the original article on Business Insider

    from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/pKUrcej
    via IFTTT

  • We bought. NYSE:SHOP

    NYSE:SHOP bought at USD38.29

    Shopify has a strong offering and is used by millions of brands. I recently used Shopify to set up an e-commerce website and was impressed by the ease of use and how fast I could get started. I think this stock is going to perform well next year as more individuals are moving to online shops. It is currently sitting at USD 33.71 at the time of writing this article, which makes it a nice entry point.

  • We bought. EPA:STM, EBR:MELE

    ST Microelectronics
    Code EPA:STM bought for 42.1 EUROS
    ST Microelectronics is a French chip maker. It is backed by several european countries (including France) to ensure Europe’s sovereignty in the chip supply. Chips are used everywhere they are at the center of a lot of industries: electric cars, planes, sub marines, IOT, etc… STMicroelectronics is pretty robust. Covid has introduced supply chains disruption all around the world and STM managed to deliver steadily those last 2 years. It is positioned to see good days ahead.

    MELEXIS
    Code EBR:MELE – bought for 90.64 EUROS
    Melexis is also a chip maker. They are positioned to do wonders in the electric cars space. For every car produced worldwide, they had on average 13 chips onboard. The number has increased to 18 chips at the end of last year with revenue progressing 27% year on year. Those are great signs that they are on top of the game.

  • We bought. US: DIS, AKAM, AMD, ATVI

    Stock picks November 2021

    NYSE:DIS @ USD 153.31

    Disney has a wide range of new and old franchises. While COVID hit on Disney parks revenue I think it is well positioned with its online offer of streaming services. Blockbusters like Star Wars and more recent series like the Witcher are driving new customers to the platform, particularly the younger audience which is hard to attract. The stock is relatively cheap and I think it could move around Christmas.

    NASDAQ:AKAM @ USD 111.60

    Akamai is a content delivery network (CDN) or cache provider used by millions of companies. Its services are used to reduce the bandwidth usage on many websites by serving cached version of the pages. It helps company in reducing their operating cost and preventing attacks. The stock is affordable and has the potential to go much higher. The reason I am buying it is because the company I am working for is using Akamai extensively which tells me that other large corporations are using it too. I used the same logic when I bought Cloudstrike, Workday , Okta, Google and Sumo.

    NASDAQ:AMD @ USD 157.30

    AMD has a wide range of chips used for a variety of devices and application. With the explosion of gaming and mining, AMD is positioned to deliver fantastic results over the coming years.

    NASDAQ: ATVI @ USD 60.93

    The rise of electronic sports will support growth for video game editors. Activision is a key player in the industry with titles like Call of Duty, Tony Hawk and Guitar Heroes.

  • We bought. Z2U

    Stock picks October 2021

    ASX:Z2U AUD $5.35
    Zoom2U is a great little gem. This recommendation is a little more personal. I use to work with a client in 2016 and had some questions around the IP of the software I was developing for them. A friend of mine, close to Steve Orenstein, Zoom2U CEO, gave me his number saying I should call him and ask my questions. I reached out to Steve to schedule a call without knowing who he was. He seemed a little bit surprised on how I got his phone number but helped me nonetheless. His advice led me to where I am now and I am grateful for that.

    For me a CEO who takes time to help another entrepreneur is a great indicator to where his company is going. Z2U has a great business model and is addressing a real problem: parcel transit (and other services) using peer-to-peer delivery. Steve is really clever and is leading his boat in the right direction.

    Their IPO took place the 10th of August 2021. It is still early stage and the right time to invest in a great start up.

    https://www.zoom2u.com.au

  • We bought. (ASX:RZI)

    Stock picks September 2021

    ASX:RZI $1.74

    Raiz is a promising start up. Millennials are pushed further away from real estate investment with prices exploding during COVID in some locations. On the ASX the minimum investment amount is AUD $500 in Australia, this alone is gate keeping investment for people new to the work force or without cash. Raiz offers an alternative to traditional shares investment using micro amounts. The company has a goal, a vision and a mission. Their team is diverse and they are going international with the recent appointment of a Co-CEO to expand to the US. Even though the minimum investment amount is only a few cents, they might partner up with similar apps or broaden their offer soon. Those are strong positive indicators that this company is going places.

  • We bought. NVDA, TTD, DUB, TPW

    Stock picks September 2021

    NASDAQ:NVDA USD$224

    NVIDIA is one of the best company in the world on so many levels. Best place to work, best growth, best innovation program to name a few.

    NASDAQ:TTD USD $72

    The Trade Desk is an ad company. The reason I bought this stock is relatively simple: to see where traditional ad business is going. My current job is tightly coupled with ads and rely a lot on ad views. With Google removing third party cookies by mid 2023, companies relying on ads to survive will need to find a new way to monetize their audience. So if TTD thrives it means my job is safe, if it plummets, I will need to find an other job. I can’t really recommend to buy this stock.

    ASX:DUB AUD $4.18

    Dubber Corp Ltd has had a stellar progression. It doesn’t mean it is the right time to buy it but it has been steady over the last 3 years.

    ASX:TPW AUD $13.006

    Drop shipping is big in Australia. Temple and Webster is the leader. I think there are room for improvement but limited to when COVID lockdown will end in Australia. Could fall big times after restrictions ease.

  • We bought.

    It’s been a while since I recommended any new trade. With the current situation happening around the world I was waiting for the right window to buy. Below are stocks I recently bought.

    AUSTRALIA:

    ASX:NXT $12.14

    ASX:TLS $3.74

    ASX:CHL $1.42

    ASX:WEB $5.25

    ASX:PWH $6.81

    ASX:ART $1.103

    US:

    EBAY $69.41

    INTC $56.37

    PYPL $294.90

  • We bought – MSFT , PFE, CRWD

    Stock picks February 2021

    Pfizer Inc.NYSE: PFE at USD 34.77

    Pfizer manufacture COVID-19 vaccine. Many countries, including Australia, ordered millions of dozes of the vaccine and plan to buy more over the next 5 years. It is one of the most effective vaccine commercialized at the moment. Even though other drugs produced by Pfizer did not perform as well as expected this year, I believe that the vaccine will carry Pfizer value over the next 5 years.

    Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT at USD 243.77

    Microsoft has a wider range of services in its cloud offering. Their products improved a lot since Satya Nadella became CEO. I think now is a great time to invest in Microsoft as the stock price is affordable and Microsoft has some amazing projects in the pipeline.

    Crowdstrike Holdings Inc NASDAQ: CRWD at USD 223.72

    Cloud security is becoming tremendously important nowadays. Working in a large company, I see it everyday. Crowdstrike developed a range of powerful softwares that are leading the market. We need to keep an eye on their board as its potential can attract the wrong crowd.

  • We bought – HPG

    HPG: Hipages had their IPO and launched on the ASX earlier this month. It was introduced at $2.45 per share. We think it might go lower for a while but eventually it will become a great stock. Tradies represent a large part of the working class and they deserved to have a unified system to book jobs and make transactions with customers easier. Hipages does that really well.