Services & Trade
This category includes the service sector, retail, logistics, finance, e-commerce, and tourism, alongside trade policy and investment trends. It covers import/export dynamics, banking regulations, stock market movements, and infrastructure development. With increasing integration into regional and global trade, this section provides insights into consumer behavior, foreign investment, and evolving service industries.
Vietnam construction firm announces further divestments on back-to-back losses
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 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…
South Korean firm to exit Vietnam Vingroup, Masan holdings worth US$666 million
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…
Vietnam maintains position on US currency manipulator Monitoring List
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…
Vincom Retail to add 6 new malls in Vietnam in 2024
Vincom Retail’s new malls align with a positive outlook for Vietnam retail space rentals. According to a CBRE market report released in May, in the first quarter of 2024, rental prices showed a steady increase per square meter, for ground/first floor spaces in non-CBD areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, from US$30 and US$51 to US$30.6 and US$53.3, respectively…
Real estate crowdfunding program halted not long after beginning in Vietnam
In the current economic climate, with deposit interest rates at historic lows, the local gold price much higher than the world gold price, and US dollars prices cresting all-time highs against the local currency, the need for a diversification of investment vehicles for Vietnamese consumers is becoming increasingly clear. Furthermore, Vietnam’s real estate market has been struggling to access capital on the back of a myriad of challenges the industry has faced in the past two years or so. In this context, this real estate crowdfunding program had a lot of potential…
Taiwanese ETF in Vietnam net-withdraws US$95 million from HoSE so far this year
This net selling momentum hasn’t been limited to Fubon. Foreign investors in general have been net sellers in the Vietnamese market, of late. From the beginning of 2024 until June 17, foreign investors hadhave net sold US$1.7 billion worth of Vietnamese securities listed on HoSE…
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 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 shares worth US$119.5 million to be liquidated in BlackRock ETF exit
This is in line with a broader exodus from Vietnam’s stock markets of foreign investors. Since the start of the year, just shy of US$1.58 billion has been withdrawn by non-Vietnamese investors for a number of reasons like exchange rate pressures, higher returns elsewhere, and general uncertainty with respect to the local economy…
Securities accounts in Vietnam reach almost 8 million but quality questionable
Of note, this is the total volume of accounts and Vietnamese investors can open accounts at more than one brokerage. With this in mind, in September. MB Securities closed the inactive accounts it had on file totalling 543,753 accounts. This was just one securities firm…
Waterpark developer stocks hit ceiling twice after buy order from BOD chairman
HVC started out making electrical equipment and air ducts but has since branched out into experiential entertainment development like skate rings and waterparks. Of note, the firm recorded its lowest annual revenue for the past four years in 2023, just US$9.9 million with a gross profit of about $1.7 million.
Vietnam builder ups foreign ownership limit, shares max-out twice
Vietnam currently applies foreign ownership limits to almost all stocks on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. Of note, as of March 11, of 401 stocks listed on the HoSE, 371 stocks had foreign ownership limits. For 366 of those stocks, foreign ownership was capped at 50 percent or less. This can be a deterrent for foreign investors and limiting with respect to raising capital for local firms. It can also be logistically challenging when foreign ownership gets close to said caps. In fact, these limits are one factor holding the local exchange back from an upgrade from a frontier market to an emerging market…
Interest rate hike speculation in Vietnam heats up
Whereas the bank has been spending its US dollar reserves in an attempt to keep the dong from devaluing too much, the reality is that it has already spent a lot–about US$2.95 billion according to ACB data and this has done little to weaken US dollar demand. With this in mind, an interest rate hike could be on the horizon.
Vietnam’s Foreign Investor Stock Sell-Off: Unpacked 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…
State Bank of Vietnam adds US$600 million to forex intervention tally
The State Bank looks to be using its forex reserves as a stop gap until the US cuts interest rates which should take some heat out of the US dollar. That said, the earliest analysts are expecting a US rate cut is July but September is looking much more likely, according to Morgan Stanley…
Owner of Vietnam’s gold hotel in Hanoi sees debts put up for auction
The connection to the gold hotel in Hanoi, whether it’s up for grabs or not, is noteworthy in that it was finished in 2019 right before COVID-19 saw borders close for the better part of two years. Up to that point, Vietnam’s economy had been going gangbusters as Vietnamese real estate and construction tycoons issued bonds and borrowed money hand over fist expanding…
Implementation of Vietnam’s new Land Law slated for July with NA approval
Among the key regulations this change will see come into force early are adjustments to the Law on Land that will remove land pricing regulations that see a price set every five years based with which, using their own coefficients, local governments determine the price of land. With land values increasing faster than the centrally set price and, believing their land to be worth more, landowners had in the past refused to sell waiting for a better price and this has held up a number of projects.
Vietnam securities firm suggests September 2 launch of new stock trading system
Of note the exchange said that the KRX trading system, imported from South Korea, would go live on May 2, however, this was promptly shut down by the State Securities Commission on the grounds that the exchange had failed to provide evidence trading firms were ready for the new system and because it hasn’t consulted all relevant stakeholders.
In today’s Vietnam news: Research prosecution exemption, Fuel retailer losses, Semiconductor degree requirements, Eurocham BCI, Government bond auction Wednesday, Australia tourist visa problems, Coffee
In today’s Vietnam news: Accor-Sun Group agreement, US largest ethanol supplier, Demographic dividend to end 3 years early, Maritime economy development, ACV looking to
In today’s Vietnam news: Vietnam Airlines trading restrictions removed, Insurance payouts VSS, Car sales June, 23+ years prison term recommended counterfeit supplements, Counterfeit shoes
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