A group of investors from Thailand visited Vietnam’s main stock exchange in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, looking for investment opportunities.

Economist Le Dat Chi of the HCMC Economics University said Vietnam’s stock market was really attractive for Thai investors as both the economy and the stock index grew at impressive rates last year amidst the global economic slump.

Vietnam’s economy expanded 5.32 percent last year, and the country is targeting a 6.5 percent growth for 2010.

The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, the country’s main index, last year recorded its biggest annual gain since 2006, advancing 57 percent thanks to government measures to boost the economy. It was a big rebound from a 66 percent slump in 2008.

The gauge is expected to gain a further 30 percent by the end of 2010 as corporate earnings improve, according to Vietnam Asset Management Ltd.

Nguyen The Nhien, deputy managing director of HCMC-based Thanh Cong Securities Company, said Vietnam’s economy is forecast to expand at the highest rate in the region.

The country’s stock market is also “quite young” now, so it would be a good chance for foreign investors to join in, he said.

Thailand’s economy is expected to return a growth of 3.5 percent in 2010.

Source: TN/TBKTSG