Blackhorse Asset Management held AGM and Board of Directors meetings for Group companies, including the Blackhorse Enhanced Vietnam Inc, a fund dedicated to investing in Vietnam listed and pre-listed companies.  Following the Board Meetings, Board Members held a press conference outlining recent developments and expansion plans in Vietnam.

 

Blackhorse Asset Management Pte. Ltd (“BAM”)  Ho Chi Minh City Representative Office (RO) was licensed by the Ministry of Finance in 2006. The firm now plans to expand its presence and increase the size of the Fund.

 

 

“Vietnam is one of the most compelling growth stories in the world,” stated John Engle, CFA, Managing Director of Blackhorse. “Our Blackhorse Enhanced Vietnam Inc (BEVI) fund provides global investors with an open-end off-shore investment vehicle that would allow them to capitalize on this opportunity, particularly in domestic demand and consumer space”. On Blackhorse expansion plans, he went on to say “we expect the size of the Fund to more than triple by the end of next year toUS$100m, and as a consequence need to double the size of our research team in HCMC.”

 

Serving on BEVI’s Board of Directors are Ambassador “Pete” Peterson, who was elected to the US House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997 - and appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first US Ambassador to Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1997 to 2001), Mr. Luong Van Ly, Chairman and CEO of DNL Partners and former Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City and Senator Larry Pressler a member of the US House of Representatives from 1975-79 and the US Senate from 1979-97.

 

 

“I am very proud of what Blackhorse has accomplished,” said Ambassador Peterson, “particularly in their large commitment to improving the education opportunities to a broad segment of the population thru their investment in VATC.” BEVI became the majority shareholder in VATC and has invested in establishing a new campus for the Vocational College. “The education space will be a cornerstone of our expansion and investment plans”, added Paul Rubens, Chief Operating Officer of Blackhorse, and CEO of VATC.

 

Launched at the end of February, 2007, BEVI is one of the only Vietnam-specific open-end off-shore investment vehicles. The fund can invest in Vietnam listed and pre-listed companies. BEVI can also invest in Vietnam-related companies that are listed outside of Vietnam. Through its prime broker, Citigroup, BEVI is able to leverage up to 150% of the listed portion of the portfolio.

 

BAM is a Singapore-based investment management company dedicated to providing investment expertise in Asia to clients worldwide. Blackhorse is run by three principals who, between then, have over fifty-five years of on-the-ground experience in Asian financial markets. Founded in 2001 with US$5 million under management (AUM) and a staff of three, Blackhorse has grown rapidly over the past six years.  

 

In addition to BEVI, Blackhorse Asset Management Pte Ltd manages two Asia ex-Japan funds, The Blackhorse Asia Fund, a long-short fund that was named “Best Local Fund” at Singapore Masters of Hedge Awards in May 2004, and The Blackhorse Emerging Enterprises Fund, a long-only absolute return fund that was awarded “Best Asian Small/Mid-Cap Fund” at the AsiaHedge Awards in October 2006, and named “Best Asian Long-only Absolute Return Fund” at the Asian Masters of Hedge Awards in May 2007.

 

Blackhorse’s newest fund, The Blackhorse Early-Stage Technology Fund, is a long-term investment vehicle providing investors with exposure to the Asia technology sector. Director and portfolio manager Jonathan Ross clarified that “while opportunities in the tech space abound primarily in North Asia, we are increasingly finding innovation springing up in Vietnam, and we plan to be well ahead of the pack.”

 

Most recently, Blackhorse Asset Management was honored by Barrons magazine, Wallstreet’s most recognizable periodical in its annual listing of the world’s 75 best funds in 2008. The Blackhorse Emerging Enterprises Fund ranked 11^th in the world among the 9,000 funds that qualified for consideration.

 

 

Ambassador Douglas "Pete" Peterson served as America's first Ambassador to Vietnam since the war and the first ever to Hanoi (1997 to 2001). Immediately prior to his diplomatic posting, Ambassador Peterson served three terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Second Congressional District of Florida where he was a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

His previous public service also includes 26 years in the United States Air Force, having served in worldwide assignments as a fighter pilot and commander. He completed his military service in 1981.

Ambassador Peterson has extensive experience in the private sector having formed Peterson and Associates, Inc., a general contracting company in Tampa, Florida and later served as the General Manager of Odom Tank Company, a general contracting firm located in Marianna, Florida. In 1984, he entered into a partnership to create CRT Computers, Inc., a currently active full service computer enterprise with facilities in Marianna, Florida.

 

Senator Larry Pressler served as a United States Senator from South Dakota for 18 years (1979-1997). While in the Senate he was the author of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Chairman of the European and Asian Subcommittees of the Foreign Relations Committee. He is also noted for being the only Member of Congress to refuse to take a bribe from undercover FBI agents and then to report the bribe attempt to the FBI during the Abscam investigations in 1980. He was elected to the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979. Prior to this he was a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State. He served in the U.S. Army, 1966 to 1968.

In the ten years since leaving Congress, Senator Pressler has served as a senior adviser to Salomon Smith Barney and to Monticello Capital. For six years, he was a senior partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of O'Connor and Hannan; and he subsequently formed his own law firm, The Pressler Group. He makes frequent trips to India as a member of the Board of Directors of Infosys Technologies Ltd in Bangalore.

Senator Pressler holds a BA from the University of South Dakota, MPA from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a JD from Harvard Law School and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, England.

 

From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Ly Van Luong was the Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Under the authority of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, DPI's major role is to develop the socio-economic plan of HCMC and to promote and support foreign investment. Prior to this position Mr Ly worked for the HCMC Foreign Affairs Office where he served as Deputy Director (1994 to 2001), Chief Press Officer (1992 to 1994), and Consular Officer (1978 to 1992). Mr. Ly graduated from The Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, in 1975.