This fits with a broader narrative around Vietnamese moving to save and invest rather than spend–the stock market and local gold price have both been at historic highs this year, too–in light of broader economic challenges facing the country. This is also reflected in retail sales which recorded a month-on-month decline in May over April of .07 percent and have averaged a decline of .19 percent a month since January…

Isotopic testing for cotton products entering US possible problem for Vietnam

the-shiv June 24, 2024

Of note, between October of last year and May of this year, US Customs stopped 950 shipments entering the US from Vietnam under the UFLPA valued at US$520 million. Of those 528 were released, 207 are still pending an outcome, and 215 were denied entry. Those denied shipments were worth a collective US$20.9 million with 46 shipments of apparel, footwear, and textiles among them valued at US$496,485…

Vietnam construction firm announces further divestments on back-to-back losses

the-shiv June 24, 2024

This is part of a restructuring of Hoa Binh’s portfolio to address accumulated losses incurred over the past two years. As of March 31, the firm had racked up VND 3,182 billion or US$125 million in losses. This was at least in part due to a slowdown in construction work on the back of challenges in the real estate sector more broadly…

Black market US dollars sell for 550 dong higher than Vietnam official exchange rate

the-shiv June 24, 2024

The SBV struggled to keep the dong from devaluing beyond 25,450 last week. Over the course of the week it issued US$1.2 billion in treasury bills to suck up liquidity and sold about US$520 million from its US dollar reserves, but still finished the week where it started. This latest development suggests that there might be more of the same this week…