Earlier this year the Japanese yen hit a 38-year low against the greenback and it’s currently sitting about 15 percent lower now than it was at the start of the year. Similarly, the Vietnamese dong took a big fall but has been propped up by the State Bank which has by extension kept the local currency higher against the Yen too. This article looks at what that might mean for Vietnam…

Vietnam’s New Direct Power Purchases Decree: Unpacked

Mark Barnes July 17, 2024

Last week, Vietnam issued Decree 80 creating a mechanism by which private enterprises and power generators can enter into direct power purchase agreements or DPPAs. Exactly how impactful this decree might be, however, is difficult to determine at this early stage with a lot of moving parts and a number of obstacles to be overcome. This article breaks down and puts into context the key components of this new piece of legislation.

What’s Happened to Vietnam’s Beer Market? Unpacked 2024

Mark Barnes July 10, 2024

The closure of the Heineken plant in Quang Nam, in central Vietnam, announced a week or two ago, has been big news. This is off the back of slow growth in beer sales post-pandemic and in line with falling revenues among a number of Vietnam’s major beer brewers. This has been blamed on broader economic challenges and harsher drink driving penalties, however, it is all a little more nuanced than that…

Vietnam’s Economy in the First Half of 2024: Unpacked

the-shiv July 3, 2024

Six months into 2024, just days ago, Vietnam’s General Office of Statistics released GDP data that showed a marked improvement for the local economy compared to 2023. Specifically, it found that GDP growth for Vietnam for the second quarter of this year had hit a phenomenal 6.83 percent, bringing the average growth rate for the year so far to 6.42 percent. This growth, however, has not been felt equally and in this light this article breaks down the finer nuances of Vietnam’s GDP growth in the first half of 2024.

Nuclear Power in Vietnam: Unpacked 2024

the-shiv June 26, 2024

During a state visit by the president of Russia to Vietnam last week, Vietnam’s Prime Minister told the Russians that Vietnam would consider nuclear energy as a means of meeting the net-zero 2050 commitment it made at COP26. Indeed, Vietnam needs more low-emissions electricity, but is nuclear power really a plausible solution?

The Impact of the Ukraine War on Vietnam’s Economy: Unpacked

Mark Barnes June 19, 2024

The Ukraine War has not been kind to Vietnam’s economy. Tourism, trade, and foreign direct investment have all taken a direct hit, not to mention the indirect impacts of the greater global economic challenges the war has precipitated. With this in mind, and the President of Russia due to land in Hanoi later today, this article looks at how the Ukraine War has impacted Vietnam’s economy.

Why Cryptocurrency in Vietnam Is So Popular: Unpacked

the-shiv June 3, 2024

Definitive regulations for cryptocurrency in Vietnam have been somewhat elusive. However, this has not stopped cryptocurrency and digital assets from becoming very popular. In light of this, this article runs through a brief history of cryptocurrency in Vietnam including how it has developed, how the government has responded, and what might happen next.

Vietnam’s Foreign Investor Stock Sell-Off: Unpacked 2024

Mark Barnes May 23, 2024

On March 27, foreign traders net-sold US$73.8 million worth of Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange–known colloquially as the HoSE–stocks. This was the biggest single-day net withdrawal from the market since at least December. It was, however, part of a trend that has seen foreign traders exit the market to the tune of US$1.18 billion in the six months to May 3 alone…

Vietnam’s Rare Earth Partnership Contenders: Unpacked

Mark Barnes May 14, 2024

For a brief month or two last year, Vietnam’s rare earth reserves were a hot commodity (pun intended). This was on the back of a whirlwind visit to Hanoi by the President of the United States, Joseph Biden, during which he announced the US would support Vietnam with mapping its

Vietnam’s Offshore Wind Power Holdup: Unpacked

Mark Barnes May 7, 2024

At the beginning of March of this year, a 100-ton wind turbine fell apart over a fish and shrimp farm in Vietnam’s Bac Lieu province. No one was injured but some three weeks later the owner of the shrimp farm made a compensation claim in the amount of VND 160

The Dong’s Wild Ride: Unpacked

Mark Barnes April 30, 2024

The day that Russia invaded Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, the Vietnamese dong was trading at 22,843 dong to one US dollar–it had barely moved since the start of the year. This was in line with much of the past decade in which the local currency had only depreciated marginally,

Insolvency in Vietnam 2024: Unpacked

Mark Barnes April 23, 2024

In March of last year, faced with mounting losses and limited revenue, APAX English, a chain of English centres that were once all over Vietnam, took to offering its creditors household appliances in lieu of cash to cover its outstanding debts. This was after years of delayed or entirely missed

Vietnam’s Real Estate Market Recovery 2024: Unpacked

Mark Barnes April 16, 2024

At the beginning of last year, construction work on buildings in Vietnam was slowly winding down as the real estate industry ground to a halt. Hard hats were hung up and cranes ten stories high fell dormant leaving the cement shells of unfinished residential towers standing dark and empty–cold reminders

Vietnam’s Airline Industry Turbulence: Unpacked

Mark Barnes April 9, 2024

When Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways first took to the skies in January of 2019, everything was looking up for Vietnam’s airline industry–not only was international tourism flourishing but rising incomes among middle-class Vietnamese were fueling a boom in domestic tourism as well. In fact, the route between Hanoi and Ho Chi

Vietnam’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Ambitions: Unpacked

Mark Barnes March 26, 2024

It was 2008. The world was in the throes of the global financial crisis and businesses and consumers were tightening their belts all over the world, Intel, however was expanding. Specifically, it was building its biggest chip factory at the time in southern Vietnam. This was something relatively new for

The US Election and Vietnam: Unpacked

Mark Barnes March 19, 2024

In a bun cha restaurant in Hanoi’s Old Quarter there is a plastic table and chairs encased in an acrylic box, an homage to Barack Obama who once ate at the restaurant with Anthony Bourdain back in 2016. No such monuments exist for either Joseph Biden or Donald Trump. Both

Vietnam’s Stock Market Upgrade Opportunity: Unpacked

Mark Barnes March 12, 2024

Over the course of 2023, foreign investors exited their positions in the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange–or the HoSE–to the tune of more than US$1 billion. This mass exodus could have been for any number of reasons: demand in key export markets was faltering, several financial crimes had been

Unpacked: Vietnam’s Non-Market Economy Review

Mark Barnes March 6, 2024

In 2021, it was announced that raw honey from Vietnam would be subjected to antidumping tariffs in the United States. Vietnam was not alone, Argentina, Brazil, and India were also subjected to similar orders. What was different for Vietnam, however, was how the US Department of Commerce–the DOC–carried out its

Vietnam Stock Market Indexes: Quick Guide 2024

the-shiv February 26, 2024

The Vietnam stock market index most commonly used is the VN-Index. This is made up of a basket of stocks listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange–or HoSE for short–and is published and analysed in most major news publications in Vietnam daily. That said, there are several other

The Gold Price in Vietnam: Explained 2024

Mark Barnes February 18, 2024

The gold price in Vietnam is more often than not much higher than it is in the rest of the world. In fact, in 2023, at its peak, it was around 20 percent higher owing to a number of factors including the limited supply, huge demand, and a regulatory environment