Vietnam’s stock market indexes have been in the news a lot lately as the country pushes for an upgrade from a frontier to an emerging market. There are, however, a number of obstacles still standing in the local bourse’s path before an upgrade can be made and, as a result, it may still yet be languishing in MSCI’s Frontier Markets Index for some time to come.

Vietnam tech-giant’s losses quadruple after audit

the-shiv May 16, 2024

VNG’s Zalo currently has about 72.5 million user accounts and its success has put VNG in the government’s good graces. This may speak to reports last week that the Steam gaming platform had been banned in Vietnam at the request of local game producers.

State media laments struggling Vietnamese films days after censors ban ‘gloomy’ local film

the-shiv May 16, 2024

This comes just days after it was reported that the locally produced film Viet and Nam, which is headed for the Cannes Film Festival, was banned from distribution by the Department of Cinema because of its ‘gloomy’ depiction of Vietnam.

State Bank sells US$400 million of forex reserves on Wednesday: ACB

the-shiv May 16, 2024

Research from WiGroup last week estimated Vietnam’s reserves to be only about US$90 billion. That being the case, with the IMF recommending enough foreign currency on hand to cover three months worth of imports, and imports reaching just shy of US$30 billion in April, these reserves are dangerously low.

New! Vietnam Economic Snapshot
April 2025

New! Vietnam Labour Market Report
Q1 2025

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