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Author: Mark Barnes

Mark Barnes is a Hanoi based freelance business journalist. He has a Bachelors Degree in Journalism from RMIT and a Masters of International Relations from the University of Melbourne. He writes broadly about the business environment in Vietnam and is available to write feature articles, market research and business intelligence reports, as well as consult on the intricacies of doing business in Vietnam.

Buy More, Sell Less: Tackling Vietnam’s Trade Surplus with the US

Vietnam has been repeatedly singled out by US officials with respect to its trade surplus with the United States. This hasn’t, so far, seen any targeted trade implications for Vietnam (i.e. tariffs) from the US administration, but it is increasingly looking like it is only a matter of time. With this in mind, this article looks at how Vietnam might address the trade imbalance by buying more US goods, and/or reducing its exports to the US.

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Building An International Financial Centre in Vietnam: Unpacked

At the end of December, the Government of Vietnam passed Resolution No 259/NQ-CP approving a plan to create regional and international financial centres in Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. Whereas the plan puts the emphasis on location this article looks at the regulatory issues holding this project back.

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Vietnam’s Economy in 2024: A Brief Recap

Vietnam had a bumper year in 2024 based on GDP figures alone. Released on Monday, data from the General Office of Statistics, found that the economy had increased in size by 7.09 percent, a significant jump from the 5.05 percent it recorded in 2023. But that’s not to say Vietnam is on a sure footing heading into 2025 (it actually looks more to the contrary) or that everyone was a winner…

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What to Watch Now Google Has An Office in Vietnam

Last week, Google announced it had opened an office in HCMC. This has been a long time coming and this makes Google one of the first big tech firms to do so. That said, the operating environment Google is entering is complicated and with this in mind, this article unpacks a few of the challenges Google might face.

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Does Vietnam Have a Private Consumption Problem Too?

When reports of a private consumption problem in China surfaced, it made sense to wonder if Vietnam might be facing those same problems too. And indeed, whereas it’s fairly easy to assume that Vietnam’s booming economy might correlate to booming consumer consumption, the numbers paint a somewhat different picture…

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Vietnam’s New Social Media ID Regulations: Breaking Down the ‘Why?’

The passage of Decree 157, which adds verification requirements for social media accounts in Vietnam, has caused a stir amid claims this will be used to identify distributors of content deemed ‘anti-state’. This may be true, but it seems unlikely this is the actual intent of these new regulations, with several much more pressing reasons for these new requirements…

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How Well Prepared Is Vietnam for a Trump Presidency?

Most analysis in Vietnam of Trump’s election has centred around two key recurring themes: an increase in import tariffs in the United States as a direct impact on Vietnam; and, a likely stronger US dollar as a result of said tariffs and subsequently increased pressure on the dong. This article looks at how Vietnam might respond.

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Temu in Vietnam: What’s Fair in Free Trade?

When Chinese e-commerce giant Temu officially launched in Vietnam last month the hype was palpable. Not only had the firm dropped a small fortune on advertising but it had also ruffled feathers in Vietnam’s business community: Temu’s goods were too cheap and Vietnamese producers could not compete. With a narrative containing two things Vietnamese love–huge discounts and hating on China–the local media piled on…

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Vietnam News Roundup: October 18 to October 24

This week’s Vietnam news roundup covers the latest State Bank open market operations, import-export news, stock market developments including foreign investor trading activity, the most recent IMF GDP growth figures, the new rooftop solar decree, and more…

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It’s Time to Talk About Vietnam’s Credit Growth Policy…

A credit growth limit policy put in place to keep inflation in Vietnam in check back in 2010 was last year, after uncharacteristically low credit growth, reframed as a credit growth target. Banks, subsequently, have been pushed to issue more loans than they otherwise might have, which could have broad economic implications…

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