“We have to think carefully how we deploy our money,” says Andy Ho, managing director and chief investor officer of VinaCapital. “About 10 to 15 years ago we realized that our strategy has to be to invest in private equity here in Vietnam. This is how we differentiate ourselves.”
VinaCapital has two ways out of an investment: a company going public, like Vinamilk, which VinaCapital invested in when it was a state-owned enterprise and keeps in the portfolio because they still like it; or a trade sale, as when they sold local vodka business Halico to Diageo.
“It’s a great approach because when the public market window goes away, we have the strategic path to sell to as an option,” says Ho.
