Vietnam’s economy has been growing rapidly for the better part of three decades. This section broadly tracks news media coverage of Vietnam’s economic development including targets, forecasts, imports and exports, and foreign investment.

UK-Vietnam trade growth slows due to UK trade policy changes

the-shiv October 31, 2023

Vietnam’s exports to the United Kingdom this year have stagnated as a result of the UK signing onto the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) and more free trade agreements, Vietnam Plus is reporting. This is creating more competition among the UK’s suppliers and giving UK importers more options, which is

US to officially review Vietnam’s non-market economy status

the-shiv October 31, 2023

The US Department of Commerce has announced it will officially review Vietnam’s status as a non-market economy for the purposes of anti-dumping measures, according to the Federal Register. This will be done in the context of anti-dumping measures applied to raw honey from Vietnam and is in response to an

Vietnam interbank interest rates hit four-month high of 2.22 percent

the-shiv October 26, 2023

The overnight interbank interest rate in Vietnam hit 2.22 percent on Monday (three days ago), the highest it has been in four months, Doanh Nhan Vietnam reported today. The publication is saying that this signals that the excess liquidity problem may have improved and suggests this is a result of

VinaCapital floats the idea of Vietnam hosting the Olympic Games

the-shiv October 25, 2023

Investment firm VinaCapital published notes from an investor conference earlier this month in which it said it believes Vietnam’s GDP for the year will come in at under 5 percent, but also that the recent ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ Vietnam signed with the United States may signal a step toward Vietnam

Standard Chartered cuts Vietnam growth forecast for 2023

the-shiv October 25, 2023

Standard Chartered has cut its GDP growth forecast for Vietnam this year from 5.4 percent to 5 percent, The Investor is reporting. This is mostly in line with revised government forecasts as well as those of a number of big institutions–the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development

Vietnam’s bad debt ratio almost doubled from January to July

the-shiv October 25, 2023

Vietnam’s bad debt ratio has gone from 2 percent in January to 3.56 percent by the end of July, according to the State Bank of Vietnam and reported by Vietnam Plus. Vietnam’s economy has been struggling since the end of last year when limits on how much credit banks were

Barely a quarter of Vietnam’s workforce has a degree, formal qualifications

the-shiv October 24, 2023

Just 14 million or 26.8 percent of Vietnam’s workforce have a degree or formal qualifications, Doanh Nhan Saigon is reporting. A further 33 million workers or 66.6 percent of the workforce are also employed in informal work–subsistence farming for example. This suggests that low-cost labour may be an option for

Is Vietnam really at risk of a labour shortage?

the-shiv October 24, 2023

There were 22.6 million people aged between 15 and 24 in Vietnam, in 2020, but by the end of 2022 that number had dropped to 20.7 million, and this is putting Vietnam at risk of a labour shortage, VN Express is reporting. The article discusses Vietnam’s ‘golden population’ structure and

10,000 dongs worth of T-bills expired yesterday, replaced with just 850

the-shiv October 24, 2023

The State Bank of Vietnam issued a tranche of T-bills yesterday valued at 850 billion dong or US$34 million, according to the SBV’s website. At the same time, 28-day T-bills to the tune of VND 10 trillion or US$409 million matured–a replacement rate of less than 10 percent. It’s not

🇻🇳 National Assembly to pass 9 new laws over the next 22 days

the-shiv October 23, 2023

Vietnam’s National Assembly is currently sitting and is expected to pass nine laws over the next 22 sitting days, The Investor is reporting. Legislation to be passed: Amended Land Law; Amended Law on Real Estate Business; the Amended Housing Law; the amended Law on Water Resources; the Amended Law on

IMF forecasts GDP growth for Vietnam of 4.7 percent, 2023

the-shiv October 19, 2023

In its Fall 2023 Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific report the IMF has forecast GDP growth of 4.7 percent for Vietnam in 2023 and 5.8 percent in 2024, Vietnam News is reporting. It goes on to cite the report as finding that Vietnam’s measures to contain inflation have been

🇻🇳 Dong-stabilising t-bills set to start maturing today, next steps unclear

the-shiv October 19, 2023

US$409 million worth of treasury bills issued by the State Bank of Vietnam in September as a means to stymie the devaluation of the dong are set to mature today, VN Express is reporting. Why it matters: The SBV has issued nearly US$10 billion worth of T-bills since September 21

🇻🇳 Trade turnover down 11 percent year-on-year

the-shiv October 19, 2023

Vietnam has posted a trade turnover of US$496.30 billion for the first nine months of the year, an 11.2 percent drop over the same period in 2022, Dan Tri International is reporting. The publication notes that foreign-invested firms accounted for US$341.65 billion of said turnover whereas local firms accounted for

Increase to minimum wage in Vietnam pushed back beyond January 2024

the-shiv October 18, 2023

The National Wage Council has said it will not recommend increasing the minimum wage from the start of 2024, Tuoi Tre is reporting. Lai Van Tong, the Deputy Director of the Department of Labour Relations and Wages, at the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, says this is

🇻🇳 Global minimum tax legislation delayed, alt. support for business not ready

the-shiv October 18, 2023

Legislation that would see a number of multinationals in Vietnam pay at least 15 percent tax in Vietnam under the OECD’s Global Minimum Tax (GMT) initiative, has been delayed, Reuters is reporting. State-controlled media is saying that the legislation has not been submitted to the National Assembly, which starts sitting

🇻🇳 SBV T-bond issues in last 30 days reach US$8.1 billion

the-shiv October 16, 2023

The State Bank of Vietnam issued VND 20 trillion (US$817 million) in bonds on Friday bringing the total for the last 30 days to US$8.1 billion, per the SBV website. This is the 17th tranche of bonds issued since the SBV embarked on a t-bill issuing spree to shore up

Results of AMRO Annual Consultation with Vietnam are imminent

the-shiv October 11, 2023

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office has pre-empted the release of its annual consultation report with Vietnam with this press release. Key takeaways: Vietnam’s economic growth in the near term remains fragile; The rate at which Vietnam’s population is ageing could weigh on medium-to-long-term growth potential; A drop in liquidity in

EU firms benefitting more than local firms from EVFTA

the-shiv October 10, 2023

VN Express is carrying coverage of a government report on outcomes from the EVFTA, that has found an increase in Vietnam’s trade surplus with the bloc of 35 percent over 2021. It does, however, also point out that the bulk of that trade is being driven by European firms rather

Business confidence among Eurocham BCI survey respondents up

the-shiv October 10, 2023

Eurocham has released its Business Confidence Index survey results from Q3 and it is showing a marginal improvement, arresting a steady decline since the start of the year, The Investor is reporting. The index recorded 45.1 points in Q3 up from 43.5 in Q2. Full report: Eurocham Business Confidence Index

AMRO revises Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast up from 4.4 percent to 4.7 percent

the-shiv October 9, 2023

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) has revised Vietnam’s GDP growth forecast for this year from 4.4 percent to 4.7 percent, Vietnam Plus is reporting. This puts it in line with World Bank forecasts which were revised down last week from 6.3 percent forecast in April to 4.7 percent in