Financial investment: foreign funds ready for disbursement Fund management companies that have been in Vietnam a long time are moving ahead with plans to raise new funds in anticipation of great opportunities to come from equitized state-owned enterprises, profitable listed companies and private businesses with potential.   A representative of VinaCapital, which now manages three funds listed on the London stock market with total asset value of $1.5 billion, said VinaCapital would put the second domestic fund into operation in the Vietnamese market in November. The fund would be open to both Vietnamese and foreign investors with initial investment capital of $5 million. It would target companies with shares being transacted on the OTC or UpCom markets. Prior to that, in August 2016, VinaCapital cooperated with Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management to develop the funds for South Korean investors. In the immediate time, the two sides would join forces to develop VIP Equity Fund, which specializes in making investment in public companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. In the long term, VinaCapital and Shinhan would develop investment funds which invest in many different types of assets in Vietnam, such as stocks, bonds and real estate. Fund management companies that have been in Vietnam a long time are moving ahead with plans to raise new funds in anticipation of great opportunities to come from equitized state-owned enterprises, profitable listed companies and private businesses with potential. Mekong Capital, the largest fund management company in terms of investments in unlisted equities, is the pioneer in raising new funds after the global financial crisis which lasted from 2008 to 2014. Since 2001, Mekong Capital has been managing four investment funds which have made 30 investment deals in unlisted equities. Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III) made its debut in May 2015. One year later, MEF III completed the mobilization of $112.5 million worth of capital and has made some investment deals, including investment in Wrap & Roll (restaurant chain) and ABA Trade Solutions. MEF III focuses on companies in the fields of retail, restaurant and consumer goods & services. Meanwhile, Saigon Asset Management (SAM), which is now managing Vietnam Equity Holding (VEH) and Vietnam Property Holding (VPH) – both of them set up in 2007 – after becoming the strategic partner of the My Chau drug store chain in early 2016, has been looking for the opportunities to cooperate with private businesses with high growth rates. According to Nguyen Thi Thu from VVF, investors are paying attention to some certain business fields. VinaCapital, for example, would focus on the retail sector and consumer goods. Investors are also interested in companies in infrastructure development (road and seaports) and industries and construction which saw a six-year record growth rate recently. The shares of power, water and gas companies are also attractive because of the prediction that the power sector would grow by 10-15 percent to ensure a GDP growth rate of over 6 percent.  Thanh Mai, VietNamNet Bridge