Author: the-shiv
Due date for made in Vietnam car excise tax payments pushed back to November
Special Consumption Tax is paid by the consumer at the point of purchase of the vehicle to the dealership who then holds on to those funds to pass on to the Tax Department when they fall due. By delaying these payments, this policy acts like a short term loan to these operations. This has been a popular means of supporting local enterprises over the past few years as the car market has struggled through a broader economic downturn…
Vietnam suspends priority customs treatment for Panasonic
Article 45 allows firms approved to receive priority customs treatment to submit incomplete documents when exporting or importing goods. These firms, however, must submit completed documentation within the following 30 days…
Quorum failure adds to woes of Vietnam securities firm hacked back in March
It’s not clear why it failed to make quorum nor when another annual general meeting might be scheduled. That said, it’s also not clear that this is necessarily a big problem, however, it does speak to a bad run for VNDirect which was shut down for a week by hackers back in March. This has seen its share price on a steady decline since falling from VND 21,278 on March 21 to just VND 17,500 as of today–a decline of just shy of 22 percent.
Vietnam banks sell gold online to relieve pressure on site, demand surges
This move, however, may have inadvertently facilitated a spike in demand giving people who don’t have the time to wait in queues at banks a more efficient means to buy the relatively cheap gold on offer. Of note, Agribank reported that at one point there were 50,000 attempts to register to buy gold at one time through its online portal…
Korean Soju to be made in Vietnam from 2026
HiteJinro Group will join a slew of other well-known beverage makers with factories in Vietnam including Heineken, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi. These firms stand to benefit from not only a rapidly growing consumer market in Vietnam but also a number of benefits that come with manufacturing in Vietnam including low-cost labour and tax incentives…
Marine spatial plan to be presented to Vietnam National Assembly this week
The marine spatial plan is set to be the cornerstone for the development of Vietnam’s coastline. It has, however, been a long time coming. Work began on the marine spatial plan in 2018 but is still ongoing with a broad range of stakeholders from a diverse range of industries–defence, oil and gas, fisheries, and tourism to name but a few. Not to mention the geopolitical implications related to carving out a swathe of the South China Sea or East Sea as it is known in Vietnam. With this in mind, it may be a while longer too…
Vietnam reservoir flood release indicative of reduced hydro, more coal power strategy?
This is interesting in that hydropower has been underutilised this year compared to last. Just 15 percent of Vietnam’s power came from hydro from January to April of this year, compared to 25 percent for the same period last year. At the same time it has been reported that about 64.6 percent of Vietnam’s electricity came from burning coal in April, whereas in 2023, on average, coal was responsible for just 46 percent of Vietnam’s electricity supply.
Vietnam PM suggests foreign workers for executive roles at state-owned enterprises
In the past the leaders of SOEs have always been members of the Communist Party of Vietnam which has significantly reduced the talent pool from which to draw–there are currently only a little over 5 million members of the party or around 5 percent of the population. This also leaves these positions open to being filled through political jostling and networking often connected to seniority and an individual’s position within the party more broadly, rather than merit and qualifications…
China’s BYD Vietnam market entry conspicuously coincides with EU, US EV import tariffs
This is in the context of antidumping tariffs on electric vehicles in the US and EU which may see China look for alternative markets for their vehicles. With a reasonably big population and rapidly rising incomes, not to mention being just a stone’s throw away, Vietnam is a prime choice…
Three Vietnam internet cables reported down days before possible Putin visit
This could not have come at a worse time. Not only is the National Assembly currently in session but there have been reports the Russian president, Vladimir Putin could be in Hanoi as soon as Wednesday. With the eyes of foreign governments and international media likely to fall on Hanoi in the event the Russian leader does make his way to Vietnam, demand for information out of the country is likely to be high.
Vietnam officially considering anti dumping tariffs on Chinese steel
If anti dumping duties are introduced Hoa Phat Steel, which trades on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange under the ticker HPG, would likely be one of the key beneficiaries. Stocks in the firm are some of the most heavily traded on a near daily basis among foreign investors. Foreign ownership in the firm is currently capped at 49 percent with 24.92 percent of the company’s shares currently held by foreign traders.
Illegal Vietnam gambling sites sponsoring sports teams in Europe
Gambling in Vietnam is illegal but is still rampant. There have been some attempts to legalise the practice, particularly sports betting, with guidelines for a pilot program legislated back in 2017, but no business has as yet taken up the opportunity. This is in large part due to very restrictive regulations that limit the size of a bet to VND 1 million or about US$42 and to just a handful of sports. A minimum capital contribution of VND 1 trillion or US$42 million is also required…
Vietnam looking at introducing sugar tax on soft drinks
Dubbed the ‘sugar tax’ this has been raised several times in the past. The American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam came out against the idea back in 2018 arguing there was no evidence legislating a sugar tax would reduce consumption of sugary drinks. That said, a study on a similar tax in Mexico found that the consumption of sugary beverages fell 6 percent in its first year of implementation…
Vietnam improves slightly in MSCI 2024 Global Market Accessibility Review
Of the 18 criteria listed, on six Vietnam had no issues, on four it had no major problems but could use some improvement, but for the remaining eight it was marked as needing improvement. Vietnam has been actively courting an upgrade to its market classification from FTSE Russell and MSCI. Though it still looks to be some ways away this latest report from MSCI does suggest it is moving in the right direction.
Vietnam ministry proposes 100 percent special consumption tax on alcohol
Of note, major beer makers in Vietnam, including the makers of the popular Beer Saigon and Beer Hanoi brands reported falling profits in 2023. A crackdown on drink-driving has partially been blamed alongside the pending increase in taxes on alcoholic beverages–though nothing has been confirmed and its not clear how a future tax increase might have influenced last years sales.
Vietnam car sales increase in May, but down year-to-date
Of note, an article in Business Forum Magazine has lamented that the bulk of this decline was in locally produced vehicles and suggests this might presage an even greater decline of the local car manufacturing industry. It points out that import tariffs have come down considerably on motor vehicles under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement but are also declining as a result of the European-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which should see tariffs on cars imported from Europe reduced to zero by 2030.
Claims Vietnam to allow gold imports later this year rebuffed
There was a similar situation last month whereby Reuters reported that the state power provider had asked a key Apple supplier to reduce its power consumption, however, the state power provider later came out and said this wasn’t accurate. It should be noted that government ministries and departments and state-owned enterprises generally do not respond to requests for comment from foreign media. With this in mind, a simple solution might be to reform this practice.
Vietnam bank lowers foreign ownership limit below Aussie bank’s current holding
It’s not clear what this might mean for Australia’s Commonwealth Bank nor why they bank made this decision. It could be to give local shareholders greater control over what the Commonwealth Bank does with its stake or could also be that the bank wants to diminish the influence of foreign banks on its local operations…
Vietnam port pushes back on allegations of pilfering from goods for export
The allegations now include 1.68 tons of coffee missing from a shipment to Egypt in January; four shipments of pepper to the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, and Japan from March that were each missing between 1.5 and 4.6 tons; and three pepper shipments to Malaysia and Norway between September last year and March this year that were each missing between 200 kilograms and 3.3 tons of product…
Vietnam aviation forum highlights outsized debate over rising local airfares
It’s not exactly clear why airline ticket prices have become such a huge focus in the local media and this could suggest that said coverage is slightly disproportionate to the problem it purports to cover. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the local aviation industry has been having a difficult time of late and this may be simply adding to its woes…
In today’s Vietnam news: Dragon Capital Europe ETF, Carbon market opens, New regulations communicating with press , Copyright commercial-use fee confusion, Vingroup reduces holdings
In today’s Vietnam news: Ethical / cultural business standards framework, Floating solar project, Embattled construction firm investment spinoff, Raising public debt ceiling, Selling excess
In today’s Vietnam news: GS TL on AI, Saigon Economic Times last issue, Fuel prices cut, Vinhomes issuing more bonds, Counterfeit Korean cosmetics store,
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