features
The Features category includes in-depth analyses, expert opinions, and long-form reports on key industries, policies, and market developments. It explores trends, challenges, and opportunities across various sectors, providing comprehensive insights for professionals, businesses, and policymakers.
Can/Should the Philippines Emulate Vietnam’s Export-led Growth Model?
Last week, an opinion piece in Business World suggested Vietnam’s export-led economic development model could be used as a blueprint for the Philippines, with a focus on Vietnam’s lower costs, recent regulatory reforms, and infrastructure and logistics. Digging a little deeper, however, Vietnam’s growth model has depended largely on a number of factors that may be difficult to replicate elsewhere in the world.
Vietnam’s Vingroup’s 68 Lawsuits: Unpacked
Vietnam’s Vingroup, unhappy with recent social media coverage, announced lawsuits against 68 individuals and organisations last week — an unusual PR tactic that merits monitoring for its broader business implications. With this in mind, this article backgrounds the context and the claims, and considers what this might mean more broadly.
Vietnam’s Economy in August 2025: Unpacked
On Saturday, the National Statistics Office (NSO) released its August economic update. This article breaks down the key data points and policy factors that shaped Vietnam’s economic landscape in August 2025.
Vietnam Stock Market Outlook: September 2025
The year 2025 has been an interesting year for the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), which has broken a number of records, climbing well above its previous high of 1,528.57 points recorded back in 2022. Here’s how Vietnam’s stock market performed in August and what that might mean moving forward into September.
Vietnam’s Credit Growth Limits vs Targets: There’s a Difference. It Matters.
There has been some misreporting that Vietnam is looking to get rid of credit growth targets. In actual fact, it’s talking about getting rid of credit growth limits. These are different things and this is an important distinction to make. Here’s why.
Why Vietnam’s “Market Principles” Land Pricing Policy Reversal Push is Worth Watching
Vietnam’s new Land Law tied land prices to the market, driving sharp increases in fees and taxes. This has not been popular, and the backlash has spurred calls to return to state-set valuations. This would, however, not bode well for Vietnam’s market-orientated reform agenda.
Vietnam’s Vingroup’s Q2 Financial Statements & Deteriorating Debt Profile: Unpacked
Vingroup’s latest consolidated financial statements reveal a company that is heavily leveraged and accruing liabilities at a hefty clip. This article breaks down this latest data and looks at what might happen next.
Vietnam’s Economy in July 2025: Unpacked
Vietnam’s economy outperformed expectations in July, with trade and manufacturing holding firm despite looming US tariffs. This article breaks down the key data points and policy factors that shaped Vietnam’s economic landscape in July 2025.
ASEAN Supply Chain Integration: Key Takeaways from the Thai-Cambodia Border Dispute
The Thai-Cambodia border dispute has made clear that ASEAN member states are not beyond armed conflict with each other. This, however, disrupts trade and integrated supply chains, highlighting risks baked into ASEAN frameworks that could prove problematic for the bloc moving forward.
Vietnam’s Petrol Motorbike Ban: Intent Versus Economic Reality
The local government in Hanoi was recently assigned the task of ridding the inner city of petrol-powered motorbikes from July 1, 2026. This policy has the potential to be hugely disruptive and will have broad-reaching economic impacts that may not justify the intended outcomes.
How Will Trump’s Tariffs Impact Vietnam’s FDI Flows?
In the new trade paradigm coming out of the US, questions have been raised about Vietnam’s FDI-powered growth and whether it can be sustained. With this in mind, this article looks at how tariffs impact FDI flows and what to expect moving forward.
Big Cars, Tiny Streets: Will Trump’s Tariff Deal Accelerate US SUV Sales in Vietnam?
Donald Trump recently speculated that Vietnam cutting import tariffs would be a big win for American SUV makers. Whereas the contrast between Vietnam’s narrow streets and large US vehicles has raised eyebrows, there is precedent for such a market, and the idea is not as far-fetched as it at first seems.
Vietnam’s H1:2025 GDP Growth: Key Drivers, Rising Risks
Vietnam’s first-half GDP growth surged to 7.52 percent in 2025, marking its strongest start since 2011, according to the National Statistics Office. While driven largely by manufacturing and robust domestic consumption, the expansion is heavily underpinned by private credit and faces rising external risks. Rapid credit growth and looming US tariffs on Vietnamese exports pose significant challenges to sustaining this momentum in the second half of the year.
Vietnam’s Economy in June: Unpacked
Last Friday, the National Statistics Office released its June update showing rising inflation, a weakening dong, and trade uncertainty ahead of the July 9 Trump tariff deadline. This article breaks down the key data and policy trends shaping Vietnam’s economy.
Trump’s Vietnam Trade Deal Announcement: Sectors to Watch
Yesterday, in a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam that would impose a 40 percent tariff on goods transhipped through Vietnam and a 20 percent tariff on all other Vietnamese imports. This article looks at which sectors are most at risk of that higher 40 percent rate.
What Vietnam’s New Law on Digital Technology Actually Means for Crypto Traders
Vietnam’s new Law on Digital Technology has been heralded as landmark legislation in that it officially recognises cryptocurrencies in law, but it’s more foundational than game-changing. It’s what is built on top of it that will really make a difference, though what that might be, and how effective it might be, is still not entirely clear.
Explainer: What’s Driving Vietnam’s Stock Market Rally?
Despite rising nearly 100 points this year, Vietnam’s VN-Index rally is far from broad-based. A closer look reveals that just four stocks — all tied to the Vingroup ecosystem — account for nearly 90 percent of gains. In a challenging global economic environment, this concentration raises questions about the sustainability of the rally and highlights the need for careful scrutiny before jumping in.
How Low Can the Vietnamese Dong Go? Why it’s Sliding & What Might Happen Next
Vietnam’s dong has weakened 2.83 percent this year, diverging from regional peers, as State Bank interventions have the currency overvalued and FX reserves depleted. With this in mind, this article looks at how it’s reached this point, what is happening now, and where it might be headed next.
Vietnam’s BRICS Partnership: Risks & Benefits
Vietnam’s new BRICS partnership offers potential access to new financing and export markets but also carries risks. That said, it is only a small step forward and looks more like a pragmatic hedge than a major strategic shift.
The End of Vietnam’s Two-Child Policy: When Ideology Meets Economics
Vietnam may have scrapped its long-standing two-child policy last week, but the ideology behind it may be harder to shift. Coming just days after General Secretary To Lam urged the nation to “practice thrift and fight wastefulness,” the move signals less of a break from the past than a concession to present economic realities: a shrinking workforce, a strained social security system, and a manufacturing model under pressure.
In today’s Vietnam news: More land for Trump golf course, Hanoi metro awarded Vingroup, Rising bank bond interest rates, GE contract stalled power plant
In today’s Vietnam news: MSCI market review, Russia’s Gazprom abandons LNG plant project, Horror movie making warning, Banking risk analysis, Denmark-VN ethanol cooperation, Work
In today’s Vietnam news: Thailand vs Vietnam tourism, India missile purchase final stages, Airport rail connections Long Thanh, BESS development Northern Vietnam, New US
This is an interview with Chris Walker, a Vietnam Sourcing Expert with Vietnam Factory Tours how rising oil prices and the Middle East crisis are
This is an interview with John Gardner, CEO and Founding Partner, at Optimum Hospitality in Ho Chi Minh City. It covers fuel price impacts on:
This is an interview with Dr Nuno F. Ribeiro, Associate Professor, International Tourism & Hospitality Management at Copenhagen Business College, formerly of RMIT Vietnam. It