Vietnam is currently ranked 178 out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Coming in at 179 and 180 are China and North Korea, respectively. Indeed, Vietnam’s news media is tightly controlled and influence over what makes it into the public domain is often wielded

US product transfer firm opens factory in southern Vietnam

the-shiv September 9, 2023

US firm Kurz, which specialises in thin-film transfers and decorative producs, has opened a factory in Vietnam’s Quy Nhon province, Plastics Technology is reporting. In the original press release, the company says it’s investing 35 million euros (US$37.5 million) in the new facility. It is slated to produce plastic finishings

Anticipated technology transfers from FDI to local firms not happening in Vietnam

the-shiv September 8, 2023

Technology transfers from foreign to local firms are not happening, Tung Dinh Dang, Deputy Director of the Department of Technology Assessment, via Tuoi Tre. Instead, foreign firms are only transferring technology to their Vietnamese subsidiaries. Dang says, the workers often using the technology do not have the skills or education

Banks can now offer customers refinancing loans

the-shiv September 8, 2023

Vietcombank and BIDV are among the first banks in Vietnam to allow customers to borrow in order to pay loans at other banks, The Investor is reporting. Regulations that restricted taking out loans to pay off other loans were rolled back earlier this month. Why it matters: By giving customers

Vietnam’s credit growth languishes, businesses don’t want to borrow

the-shiv September 8, 2023

Vietnam’s credit growth has reached just 5.33 percent as of the end of August, The Investor is reporting. This is slightly up from July’s 4.56 percent but substantially far away from the 14 percent target for the year. Consider this: The article notes that businesses are reluctant to borrow and

Malaysian real estate firm enters Vietnam market with HCMC land purchase

the-shiv September 8, 2023

Malaysia’s Skyworld Development is set to invest US$14.15 million in land in HCMC on which it intends to build an apartment building, the New Straight Times is reporting. Context: The real estate sector has found itself almost frozen after several high-profile arrests related to bond issuances. The economy is also

Australia is chasing stronger ties with Vietnam

the-shiv September 8, 2023

Australia wants a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, an upgrade from the current strategic partnership, according to VN Express. Vietnam and Australia have drawn much closer in recent years as trade friction with China has seen the land downunder look for alternative markets for its products. Cotton exports from Australia

Vietnam’s 2023 growth target ‘extremely difficult’ to reach says deputy minister

the-shiv September 7, 2023

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Phuong Quoc Tran has told Vietnam News that reaching the government’s 6.5 percent GDP growth target by the end of the year will be challenging–at the end of June growth was at 3.72 percent. He says low demand is weighing heavily on exports and

Coffee price decline likely temporary

the-shiv September 7, 2023

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’ Import-Export Department is anticipating that a recent decline in coffee prices will slow down, according to Vietnambiz. Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer after Brazil. In the first half of 2023, coffee exports earned Vietnam US$2 billion.

Lack of, slow policy development may hinder wind power development in Vietnam

the-shiv September 7, 2023

The Investor has a write-up of the Global Offshore Wind Report 2023 in which it highlights that a lack of timely supporting policy can be off putting to investors. Specifically, Vietnam introduced a policy a few years ago that would see wind farms completed by the end of 2020 paid

Japanese to build biomass plant in northern Vietnam

the-shiv September 7, 2023

Japanese firm Erex is considering building a 50 megawatt biomass plant in Vietnam’s Bac Kan province, according to The Investor. This is alongside a number of other biomass power projects in neighbouring provinces. Under Vietnam’s Power Development Plan 8, approved earlier this year, biomass is slated to account for 2,270

Spanish football league to help develop football in Vietnam

the-shiv September 7, 2023

Vietnamnet is reporting that the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the Spanish football league (La Liga) have signed an MOU in a first step toward the Spaniards providing training and talent development to the local league. Why it matters: Vietnam loves football but the local league has been plagued by

Lack of access to capital still weighing on business in Vietnam

the-shiv September 6, 2023

Vietnam needs to cut interest rates further to stimulate borrowing, according to an article in The Investor. Credit growth, at 4.73 percent in June, is well below the 14 to 15 percent target for the year. The article goes on to reference several experts who support a further reduction in

Vietnam’s outbound FDI climbs over US$416 million to August 2023

the-shiv September 6, 2023

Vietnam’s outbound investment topped US$416 million in the first eight months of 2023, the Vietnam Investment Reviewis reporting. Vietnamese investors now have 1,665 overseas projects valued at US$22.1 billion.

VPS sees the real estate market recovering in the second half of 2023

the-shiv September 6, 2023

The real estate market in Vietnam will only start to properly recover when lending interest rates drop another 2-3 percent, according to VPBank Securities Company (VPS) as reported by Business Forum Magazine. The magazine goes on to quote VPS as saying the challenges facing the real estate market will ease

Calls for US-Vietnam free trade agreement

the-shiv September 6, 2023

Business Forum Magazine is carrying comments from economist David Dapice, who’s calling for a free trade deal between the US and Vietnam. Notably, the US was slated to be a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement of which Vietnam is a part, but the world’s biggest economy pulled out under

Virtual banking data from Visa somewhat questionable

the-shiv September 6, 2023

Doanh Nhan Online is carrying an article about a Visa report from May this year (found here) in which 90 percent of Vietnamese consumers express an interest in virtual banking services. Something to think about: The report also mentions that 76 percent of consumers in Vietnam had gone cashless for

Devaluing Vietnamese dong possibly only temporary

the-shiv September 5, 2023

Tran Ngoc Bau, CEO of Ho Chi Minh City-based financial data provider WiGroup, has said a devaluing Vietnamese dong is only temporary and that it will bounce back, The Investor is reporting. Tran says remittances, a surplus in Vietnam’s balance of payments, and an end to interest rate hikes in

Hard slog likely for VN to become a permanent fixture on world live music scene

the-shiv September 5, 2023

Tuoi Tre is carrying this analysis of BlackPink’s concert in Hanoi in July and what it might mean for the domestic live music scene. Overall the tone is somewhat optimistic but also realistic–there is a long way to go for Vietnam to become a key stopover in Southeast Asia. For

Late half-yearly reports plague Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange

the-shiv September 5, 2023

A total of 18 companies have been reminded that they are late in submitting their 2023 half-year audited financial statements, Kinh Te Saigon Online is reporting. Most of the 18 companies have been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. APAX Holdings, which made the list, has