Notably, Vietnam and the UK already have the UK Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which is almost identical to the European Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. In this light, the CPTPP will not make a huge difference to bilateral trade between the two countries. That said, there will be a few additional advantages including…

Spain renewables giant looking at central provinces for Vietnam expansion

the-shiv June 25, 2024

Of note, a combination of favorable climate conditions, supportive government policies, and rising demand has made Vietnam a promising market for renewable energy development in recent years. In particular, southern Vietnam has high solar irradiance and strong, consistent winds. The average annual sunshine duration in Khanh Hoa province is 2,600 hours per year, while Ninh Thuan province has the most hours of sunshine in a year, in Vietnam, reaching up to 2,800 hours…

Vietnam construction firm bucks industry downturn with new foreign invested projects

the-shiv June 25, 2024

Coteccons has performed relatively well over the last year or so, despite industry challenges due to a border slowdown in the real estate market. Notably, it has won several key industrial construction contracts for foreign businesses like LEGO, Foxconn, and Pandora. Furthermore, Coteccons is reportedly heading up construction of factory projects in India and Indonesia for electric car maker VinFast…

Heineken to halt making beer at central Vietnam factory on declining sales

the-shiv June 25, 2024

This is on the back of declining sales that the firm is attributing to broader economic challenges but also Decree 100 which reduced the allowed blood alcohol content when driving in Vietnam to zero. Decree 100 has repeatedly fallen into the cross-hairs of local alcohol producers, distributors, and retailers in Vietnam over the last year or so…

Vietnam’s Masan Group refutes claims SK Group has exercised put option

the-shiv June 25, 2024

In 2018, SK group bought 109.9 million shares in Masan Group for VND 100,000 or US$4.29 per share for a total of just over US$470 million. Masan, which trades under the ticker MSN, closed at VND 76,200 or US$2.99 Friday valuing the company’s holding at about US$328.6 million. A sizable loss if sold at current prices. SK Group, however, reportedly has a put option whereby it can sell its shares back to the firm at the price in paid back in 2018. It seems unusual that SK Group would not exercise this option under the current circumstances…

Logistics in Vietnam: Ultimate Guide (2024)

the-shiv June 24, 2024

Logistics in Vietnam are becoming more and more important to Vietnam’s economy. This is in line with booming international trade, the result of a myriad of free trade agreements combined with an abundance of low-cost labour, and generous tax incentives. In fact, last year Vietnam recorded nearly US$700 billion in

Vietnam’s sees bank deposits for individuals increase, enterprises decline

the-shiv June 24, 2024

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…

Japan’s Toyota to focus on hybrids over electric vehicles in Vietnam market

the-shiv June 23, 2024

Of note, Vietnam’s EV charging network is mostly owned by VinFast, a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup. The company claims to have more than 150,000 EV charging ports nationwide, however, these facilities are currently exclusively for Vinfast’s EV users. Vinfast has said that, after 10 years, the network will be opened up to other brands, however, this is years away and it’s not clear what electric car buyers of other brands will do until then…

Orders up but prices down for garments and textiles in Vietnam

the-shiv June 23, 2024

Of note, last year was not a good year for garment manufacturers and clothing suppliers in Vietnam. This was mostly on the back of lower demand in key export markets as a result of higher inflation from higher fuel costs. The response to this has been mostly supply side stimulus. Tax and interest rate cuts have been common but the impact of these measures has been limited without the demand to support them. By the end of November 2023 exports of garments and textiles from Vietnam were hovering at US$30.4 billion, a drop of 12.3 percent over the same period in 2022…

Vietnam May exports top US$32.26 billion [data set]

the-shiv June 23, 2024

Vietnam exported US$32.27 billion worth of goods in May of 2024 an increase of 3.9 percent over April. This brings Vietnam’s total exports for the first five months of 2024 to US$156.28 billion of which foreign invested enterprises accounted for 71.62 percent, just shy of US$112 billion worth…

S&P global maintains Vietnam BB+ long term, B short term ratings

the-shiv June 23, 2024

S&P Global has maintained its ratings for Vietnam but notes there are some risks. Vietnam’s banking sector on its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment matrix is rated 9. This is on a scale of one to 10 on which 1 represents the lowest risk and 10 represents the highest. This assessment “incorporates regulatory weaknesses, in addition to weak transparency and disclosure standards,” according to the report.

South Korean firm to exit Vietnam Vingroup, Masan holdings worth US$666 million

the-shiv June 22, 2024

Both investments have lost considerable value since SK Group bought into these firms in 2018. Of note, SK Group bought 205.7 million shares in Vingroup–which trades under the ticker VIC–in 2019 for VND 113,000 or US$4.85 at the time for just shy of US$1 billion dollars. Vingroup shares last traded at VND 41,650 or US$1.64 valuing the firm’s current holding at US$337.4 million…

Electricity Vietnam reps meet Samsung leaders amid power supply concerns

the-shiv June 22, 2024

The government has gone to great lengths to assure foreign investors that the supply will be adequate this year, however, moves to eek out support from foreign investors in reducing their power consumption seems to suggest otherwise–Just weeks ago, it was reported that Apple supplier Foxconn had been asked to curtail its power usages by 30 percent in anticipation of power shortages…

Vietnam think-tank finds 5.85 percent GDP growth more likely that 6.5 percent target

the-shiv June 22, 2024

This is in line with the growth outlooks of Maybank Securities and the International Monetary Fund which both forecast GDP growth of 5.8 percent back in April. The Asian Development Bank, however, has been slightly more optimistic forecasting 6 percent and Singapore’s United Overseas Bank has been even more so, forecasting 6.4 percent growth for Vietnam this year…

Vietnam floats corporate income tax cuts for small-micro businesses

the-shiv June 22, 2024

Of note, the draft amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax do not seem to make a distinction between local and foreign firms. That being the case, foreign-owned small businesses–cafes, bars, gyms, and what not–could also benefit from these changes if passed. That said, there does not seem to be a timeline for a decision as to whether these changes will be approved and go ahead…

Vietnam maintains position on US currency manipulator Monitoring List

the-shiv June 22, 2024

Of note, the foreign currency criteria only addresses purchasing activity but not selling activity. Vietnam, however, has been dipping into its foreign currency reserves in order to stop the dong from devaluing since April… This speaks to Vietnam’s motives in the way it manages its currency, in that it does not necessarily appear to be trying to gain an unfair advantage in international trade even if its place on the Monitoring List might suggest otherwise…

Vietnam to consider nuclear power to meet net-zero commitments

the-shiv June 21, 2024

Nuclear power in Vietnam has been floated before. In 2006, the government announce plans to have a nuclear power plant online by 2020 and this was followed a few years later by official plans for nuclear power plants in southern Vietnam in Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces. These were, however, shelved in 2016 in favour of gas and coal on the back of lower demand projections…