Author: the-shiv
Two Vietnam stocks in, two out in frontier markets index review
MSCI has removed Vietnam’s EVN Finance and Petrovietnam Nhon Trach shares from its Frontier Markets Index as part of its August Index Review. On the flip side, it has added Vietnam’s Binh Duong Water and Nam A Bank to the index. Of note, 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.
First half manufacturing jobs jump 10 percent over 2023: Adecco
Manufacturing over the last few months has rebounded significantly compared to 2023. Of note, S&P Global’s Vietnam Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to 54.7 up from 50.3 a month earlier. This was on the back of a sharp rise in new orders that S&P says experienced the highest growth since the index began, aside from the very first month it went online. This continued into July with the index holding at 54.7 percent.
Doing Business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2024
Ho Chi Minh City, often abbreviated as HCMC or still widely referred to as Saigon, is Vietnam’s economic heartland. Its dynamic business environment, coupled with a strategic geographic location, has solidified its position as a premier destination for foreign investment and business expansion in Southeast Asia. This bustling metropolis offers a unique blend of traditional Vietnamese culture and modern urban living, creating a vibrant atmosphere for both locals and expatriates.
State power firm looks to Vietnam Dev. Bank after commercial bank loan limit reached
Vietnam’s state power provider Electricity Vietnam or EVN has reached an agreement with the Vietnam Development Bank for US$2 billion to build more power generation and transmission lines. The agreement was arranged on the back of borrowing limits with commercial banks being reached and challenges accessing foreign capital…
Counterfeit OMO laundry detergent operation raided in northern Vietnam
Of note, protecting intellectual property in Vietnam can be challenging. It is common for local businesses to use brand names and logos of other more well-established businesses as well as to find fake brand name goods in Vietnam’s towns and cities. As of April 2024, Vietnam remained on the Office of the US Trade Representative’s Special 301 Report which found that despite intellectual property rights reforms, there were still ‘serious concerns remain regarding IP protection and, in particular, enforcement’.
Moving up runway two construction at HCMC airport floated by airports group
Despite certain stages of the first phase being ahead of schedule, however, several other parts are not moving quite so quickly. For example, the aircraft maintenance area, and operations centre, are at risk of falling behind schedule with the tender documents still not finalized. This could push back completion of the first phase, which is scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2025.
Vietnam ‘unlikely’ to see minimum wage hike in 2025
Of note, the National Wage Council meets at least once a year to discuss the minimum wage in Vietnam. That said, the minimum wage does not necessarily rise every year. For example, during COVID minimum wage rises were put on hold. Similarly, as Vietnam’s economy struggled in 2023 minimum wage hikes were delayed until 2024…
Binh Dinh officials push to include German firm in Vietnam offshore wind pilot
Officials in Binh Dinh are pushing for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to include at least part of an offshore wind farm proposed by Germany’s PNE Group in a pilot offshore wind power project being developed. The full plan is for a US$4.6 billion investment that will generate 2,000
Elevated Vietnam banking bond issuances continue in July
Of note, back in 2022, the construction sector dominated bond issuances, accounting for about 52.30 percent of bonds issued by the end of July that year. Banking on the other hand accounted for just 2.17 percent. At the end of July this year, however, banking accounted for 67.2 percent of the bonds issued whereas construction accounted for just 2.8 percent.
UK court finds against Vietnam’s Vietjet in leasing dispute from 2021
A court in the UK has found that FitzWalter Aviation Holdings, which had a leasing agreement with Vietnam’s Vietjet, had the right to cancel said lease back in 2021. Vietjet had argued that the lease termination was illegal and had refused to allow four aircraft to be repossessed. The judgement
Indian pharmaceuticals firms planning US$200 million investment in Vietnam
Indian pharmaceutical giants SMS Pharmaceuticals and Sri Avantika Contractors are considering establishing a US$200 million plant in a manufacturing park in Thanh Hoa province. The project has already attracted around 50 potential secondary investors, according to Vietnam Investment Review. Of note, Vietnam’s pharmaceuticals market is projected to reach approximately US$2.4
Bad debts continue to skyrocket at most Vietnam banks
Of 29 of Vietnam’s biggest banks, 27 had recorded an increase in bad debt at the end of June, Mekong ASEAN has reported. Between them there was VND 46,719 billion or US$1.86 billion in bad debts, an increase of 20.8 percent compared to the end of 2023. Of note, back
Vietnam outbound FDI falls 53 percent year-on-year in July 2024
It’s worth noting, however, that it’s quite common for local firms to have offices in other parts of the world, usually Singapore, through which they conduct their foreign investment activities. This is partly to avoid the bureaucratic approval process for outbound investment but also due to the perceived relative safety of more advanced markets.
Vietnam’s VinHomes jumps on buyback news but foreigners exit stock en masse
Foreign investors, however, followed their own path, using the increased local demand to net-dump 1,935,886 shares worth around US$72 million. This has further diminished foreign ownership in the firm–at the start of last year foreign investors held about 24.30 percent of Vinhomes shares, that number has since come down to just 15.08 percent. ..
Vietnam to sell itself as filming location in US despite censorship issues
In the past, Hollywood studios have generally used Thailand as a stand-in for Vietnam on the back of a more well developed film industry in Thailand as well as complicated procedures for getting approval to film in Vietnam. Most recently, producers of the Netflix series The Sympathiser, who had intended to film in Vietnam, could not get approval to do so on the back of censorship issues…
Costa Rica recognises Vietnam as a market economy even if US doesn’t
Of note, trade between Vietnam and Costa Rica is relatively small. So far this year, the Central American nation has not featured in Vietnam’s customs data. That said, state media has been pushing the number of countries that consider Vietnam a market economy as a key reason why it should be upgraded by the US. With this in mind, it’s likely there will be many more announcements like this from smaller countries…
Vietnamese dong undervalued by 33.3 percent: Economist Big Mac index
Of note, since the start of the year, the Vietnamese dong has only devalued against the US dollar by about 4.5 percent since January 1. This has been on the back of efforts by the State Bank to keep the local currency from devaluing further against the US dollar by issuing treasury bills and burning through its US dollar and gold reserves…
Former head of Vietnam’s FLC Group sentenced to 21 years in jail for fraud
Prior to Quyet’s arrest, FLC had been a major real estate developer in Vietnam. The company had properties all over Vietnam as well as an airline–Bamboo Airways–with Quyet at one point reportedly a US dollar billionaire. Well known in Vietnam–idolised by some for his business savvy–his arrest drew a lot of media coverage and his trial has too.
Almost 6,000 redundancies at Vietnam’s Mobile World so far this year
Mobile World is one of the most active stocks on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange among foreign investors. Trading under the ticker MWG, shares of the company closed at VND 62,900 a share on Friday. Foreign investors currently own about 46.69 percent of the firm with a foreign ownership cap of 49 percent…
Imported car sales poised to overtake locally made cars in Vietnam
Most of these imports came from Indonesia, Thailand, and China which have seen their car market share in Vietnam grow on the back of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, or ACFTA, that has seen import tariffs on most small cars with less than 9 seats reduced to zero…
In today’s news: 2G services to end September 15, Rising deposit interest rates, Samsung earnings H1, Chinese hot pot chain performance, Battery storage ambitions,
In today’s news: ForEx regs overseas investments SOEs, VinFast GSM 5m unit agreement, US cotton shipments to VN, Samsung semiconductor build-out VN, Tay Ninh
In today’s news: Japan-VN asset tie-up, Import tax refund guidance, Instant noodle consumption, AI plans, SSC + S&P Dow Jones execs meet in NY,
This is an interview with Chris Walker, a Vietnam Sourcing Expert with Vietnam Factory Tours how rising oil prices and the Middle East crisis are
This is an interview with John Gardner, CEO and Founding Partner, at Optimum Hospitality in Ho Chi Minh City. It covers fuel price impacts on:
This is an interview with Dr Nuno F. Ribeiro, Associate Professor, International Tourism & Hospitality Management at Copenhagen Business College, formerly of RMIT Vietnam. It