This article is sponsored by: your business here→learn more
Aviation news
Review finds airfares in line with current regulations
A review of airline ticket prices by the Vietnam Aviation Administration has found that domestic airlines have not breached pricing regulations. The airfare regulator put out the call last week for consumers who felt they had overpaid for airfares. After a brief investigation, however, they have found that airfares prices have been within the current guidelines.
Vietnam Airlines doesn’t want to use HCMC’s new airport
Vietnam’s national carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has said that it would prefer to stay at what is currently Ho Chi Minh City’s only international airport, Tan Son Nhat, when a second airport at Long Thanh is completed. It is essentially arguing that: airport transfers will be more challenging–currently, it’s possible to walk from the domestic to the international terminal, however, when the new airport is complete it will require taking a bus–and it does not want to pay the increased costs of managing ground operations at two airports.
More broadly, Vietnam’s domestic airline industry has taken a series of hits over the last five years that have seen two airlines on the cusp of disappearing altogether, and the national carrier at risk of being delisted from the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.
For more information see: Vietnam’s Airline Industry Turbulence: Unpacked
Currency news
State Bank sells US$400 million of forex reserves in a single day: ACB
An ‘overwhelming demand for foreign currency’ in Vietnam saw the State Bank of Vietnam sell US dollars to the tune of US$400 million Wednesday, according to Asia Commercial Bank data. The bank estimates that since the end of April about US$950 million worth of foreign reserves have been sold.
Vietnam is cagey about its foreign currency reserves and does not regularly publish forex data. It does, however, periodically communicate what it has on hand with the International Monetary Fund. The last report from the IMF, in September of 2023, recorded forex reserves of US$87.6 billion. It’s not clear what has been bough or sold since then but a recent estimate from WiGroup suggested reserves are sitting around US$90 billion.
See also: The Dong’s Wild Ride: Unpacked
State Bank open market operations to COB May 16
Outstanding loans
| Issued | Length | Maturing | VND* | US$ | % p.a. |
| 13-May | 7 | 20-May | 1,560 | $61,313,994 | 4.25 |
| 14-May | 7 | 21-May | 2,996 | $117,768,605 | 4.25 |
| 15-May | 7 | 22-May | 2,791 | $109,709,332 | 4.25 |
| 16-May | 7 | 23-May | 48 | $1,895,722 | 4.25 |
| Total | 7,396 | $290,687,652 | 17.00 |
*billions
Outstanding treasury bills
| Issued | Length | Maturing | VND* | US$ | % p.a. |
| 19/04 | 28 | 17-May | 4,250 | $167,049,897 | 3.73 |
| 22/04 | 28 | 20-May | 3,550 | $139,535,796 | 3.73 |
| 23/04 | 28 | 21-May | 2,150 | $84,507,595 | 3.73 |
| 24/04 | 28 | 22-May | 1,400 | $55,028,201 | 3.75 |
| 25/04 | 28 | 23-May | 400 | $15,722,343 | 3.50 |
| 26/04 | 28 | 24-May | 3,900 | $153,292,846 | 3.75 |
| 02/05 | 28 | 30-May | 2,100 | $82,542,302 | 3.75 |
| 03/05 | 28 | 31-May | 4,600 | $180,806,947 | 3.50 |
| 06/05 | 28 | 3-Jun | 11,990 | $471,277,237 | 3.75 |
| 07/05 | 28 | 4-Jun | 7,200 | $283,002,178 | 3.75 |
| 08/05 | 28 | 5-Jun | 5,500 | $216,182,219 | 3.75 |
| 08/05 | 28 | 5-Jun | 5,550 | $218,147,512 | 3.75 |
| 09/05 | 28 | 6-Jun | 3,700 | $145,431,675 | 3.75 |
| 10-May | 28 | 7-Jun | 3,700 | $145,431,675 | 3.75 |
| 13-May | 28 | 10-Jun | 1,500 | $58,958,787 | 3.75 |
| 14-May | 28 | 11-Jun | 550 | $21,618,222 | 3.75 |
| 15-May | 28 | 12-Jun | 200 | $7,861,172 | 3.75 |
| 16-May | 28 | 13-Jun | 650 | $25,548,808 | 3.75 |
| Total | 62,890 | $2,471,945,410 |
*billions
Source: www.sbv.gov.vn
Digital Assets
Do 21 percent of Vietnamese really own crypto?
A report compiled by Triple-A, a Sinagpore based digital currencies payment provider, has suggested that 21.2 percent of Vietnamese own crypto currencies. This has been widely reported in the media in Vietnam. However, about 44 percent of Vietnamese are unbanked and just 6 percent of Vietnamese had a credit card according to a 2021 report from the World Bank. In this context, it seems unlikely that one in five people would own crypto currency.
Education News
English-certificate providers run afoul of Vietnam’s education regulators
Vietnam’s Ministry of Education has found that 146,600 English language learners in Vietnam have International English Language Testing System–known more commonly as IELTS–certificates that were ‘inappropriately issued’. In short, a change in regulations meant that foreign language certificate issuers would need to get approval from the Ministry of Education to issue IELTS certificates. It looks as though there was some confusion around this and as a result two of the biggest IELTS certificate providers–IDP and the British Council–were not approved to issue IELTS certificates between January and November of 2022. It was during this period that they issued the 146,600 certificates in question.
See also: How to Start an English Centre in Vietnam: Ultimate Guide 2024
Energy News
Vietnam’s power consumption up along with power outage concerns
Vietnam’s state power provider, Electricity Vietnam or EVN, is estimating a 12.24 percent rise in electricity consumption this month compared to May of last year, Tuoi Tre has reported. The publication goes on to outline how EVN is preparing for a surge in demand over the summer, however, it lacks any specific details.
See also: Electricity in Vietnam: Foreign Investor Cheat Sheet 2024
Site clearance issues delay Vietnam’s first LNG power plant, adding to electricity woes
Site clearance delays are hampering an LNG power project in southern Vientam, reportedly at a cost of VND 13 billion or US$510,645 per day.
Of note, site clearance is a common problem on most projects in Vietnam. This in large part stems from land pricing regulations that see a price set every five years based on which, using their own coefficients, local governments determine the price of land. The problem is that land values increase faster than the centrally set price and, believing their land to be worth more, landowners refuse to sell. That said, this should change next year when the new Law on Land comes into force. This will see the five-year intervals reduced to just one.
Japanese investor reports big losses from Vietnam’s Nghi Son refinery
Japanese investor in Vietnam’s Nghi Son refinery, Idemitsu, has said that it has booked a US$263 million provision for bad debt generated by the refinery. This is reportedly due to increased costs on the back of rising US interest rates.
That said, a lot of the Nghi Son refinery’s financial challenges stem from a tangled web of regulations and agreements that have essentially made it cheaper at times to buy imported petrol from South Korea than from the Nghi Son refinery. This has seen the refinery struggle basically from the get-go particularly after oil prices spiked when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Gaming news
World Poker Tour event in Vietnam scrapped on permitting failure
A World Poker Tour event scheduled to be held in Hanoi was cancelled amid reports organisers failed to acquire the necessary permits. Local media outlet, Dan Tri said the Hanoi Department of Culture and Information and the police had been asked to review the event including if the correct organising procedures were followed and whether or not it was facilitating illegal gambling.
In Vietnam, by law, gambling is illegal for Vietnamese citizens though there are one or two casinos at which exceptions are made. That said, poker tournaments in the past have generally been both permitted and common–it’s not clear why this tournament in particular has been singled out and speaks to the broader challenges of holding events of any kind in Vietnam.
Gold news
Vietnam’s C.Bank manages to move 8,100 taels of gold at auction
In a gold auction Tuesday Vietnam’s State Bank managed to offload 8,100 taels of gold just shy of half of what was on offer. Each tael went for about VND 87.7 million or US$2,126 each. This was a vast improvement with a series of past gold auctions selling only a few thousand gold bars or being cancelled altogether due to lack of interest. The change of circumstances is likely due to changes to this gold auction that saw the minimum order significantly reduced.
See also: The Gold Price in Vietnam: Explained 2024
Labour news
Workers are quitting their jobs in anticipation of changes to social security
Worker retention has reportedly become a problem at some firms in Vietnam due to pending changes to the ability to access social insurance before retirement. Currently, workers can choose to take a one-time payout if they are out of work for more than a year. There have, however, been reports that lump-sum payments will be done away with in the near future and in anticipation of said change some workers are reportedly resigning their positions and taking a year off to get paid out.
Manufacturing news
South Korean firm breaks ground on bioplastics plant in Hai Phong
SKC Limited, a part of South Korea’s SK Group, has broken ground on a bioplastics plant in northern Vietnam’s Hai Phong province in line with increasing plastics production among foreign firms in Vietnam. The plant will produce an estimated 70,000 tons of biodegradable plastics a year starting from the second half of 2025.
See also: How to Open a Factory in Vietnam: Ultimate Guide 2024
Media News
Video game distributor possibly banned in Vietnam at request of local game developers
Video game distribution platform Steam is reportedly no longer available in Vietnam possibly at the request of local game developers, according to Game Developer. Game Developer references an April 24 article published by Vietnam Net in which game developers lament that Steam does not need to conform to the same regulations as local game developers and this gives it an unfair advantage.
This is the kind of government intervention, if indeed it is at the request of local businesses, that looks a lot like protectionism which is not good for Vietnam’s status change application regarding its non-market economy status currently before the US Department of Commerce.
See: Unpacked: Vietnam’s Non-Market Economy Review
Vietnam creative industries dealt another blow with Cannes-slated movie banned
A Vietnamese film headed for Cannes has been denied a distribution licence by Vietnam’s Ministry of Communications on the grounds that it shows ‘a gloomy, deadlocked, and negative view’ of Vietnam, according to Screen Daily.
This is another blow to Vietnam’s creative industries which are widely seen as underdeveloped, yet continue to be hampered by Vietnam’s strict censorship regime–whereas creative industries make up about 5 to 10 percent of global GDP, in Vietnam that figure is only estimated to be about 3 percent.
Interestingly, a day later state media was lamenting that Vietnamese films have struggled to break even this year with Vietnamese choosing to see big-name international blockbusters at cinemas rather than local films.
Political news
Another politburo member resigns
Truong Thi Mai who was, until yesterday, the Standing Secretary of the Secretariat, has resigned her position. This was after it was revealed there were ‘violations and shortcomings’ in her work. Resignations among Vietnam’s leadership have become common of late with the president resigning in March and the Chariman of the National Assembly resigning just weeks ago.
There is a multitude of analysis regarding what is happening in the upper echelons of Vietnamese politics but in a nutshell it looks a lot like a lurch toward a more conservative Vietnam.
Real estate news
Vietnam’s second biggest real estate developer under investigation
Vietnam’s Novaland, the country’s second biggest real estate developer, is currently being investigated by the Ho Chi Minh City Police department. The department has reportedly request documents pertaining to Aqua City, a real estate development in southern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province. Novaland’s share value plummeted by about 28 percent between April 8 and May 10.
Novaland has been struggling like much of Vietnam’s real estate industry for the last two years. Essentially, the Evergrande crisis in China in 2022 led Vietnam to take a long hard look at its own real estate industry in which it found the prevalent misuse of investor funds, particularly those acquired through the bond market, and that a number of real estate firms were grossly over-leveraged. These revelations then went on to spook investors and consequently, it has been challenging for real estate firms to access capital for the last year and a half.
See also: Vietnam’s Real Estate Market Recovery 2024: Unpacked
Real estate credit growth figures show Vietnam’s housing sector still struggling
At the end of February credit issued to Vietnam’s real estate sector had increased by about US$813.2 million, however, the residential sector recorded a credit contraction of US$78.6 million. Outstanding loans for off-the-plan houses also fell by US$648.3 million.
Conversely, gains were made in industrial parks and export processing zones, restaurant and hotel projects, and land use rights, with US$51 million, US$36.2 million, and US$171.5 million respectively. However, the bulk of the increase was found in other real estate businesses and investments, which increased its credit allocation by US$733.8 million. It’s not clear what falls into this last category.
Vietnam real estate loans by type
| 31/12/2023 | 29/2/2024 | Change | |
| Urban construction projects and housing developments | 305,650 | 303,572 | -2,078 |
| Offices | 42,596 | 42,367 | -229 |
| Industrial parks and export processing zones | 77,033 | 78,349 | 1,316 |
| Tourism and resort projects | 43,570 | 43,393 | -177 |
| Restaurant and hotel projects | 59,581 | 60,502 | 921 |
| Renovations | 123,353 | 121,274 | -2,079 |
| Land use rights | 75,509 | 79,873 | 4,364 |
| Other real estate businesses and investments | 365,669 | 384,343 | 18,674 |
| Houses off-the-plan | 35,660 | 19,126 | -16,534 |
| Total | 1,092,961 | 1,113,673 | 20,712 |
Data is from the Ministry of Construction’s quarterly real estate report.
Stock market news
MSCI indexes shuffle Vietnamese stocks
MSCI is dropping Vietnamese real estate firm Nam Long Investment Corporation from its Frontier Markets Index as of the end of this month. That said, Vietnamese firms will likely still make up the bulk of the index–they currently account for about 31 percent of its weight with the next biggest contributor, Bangladesh, sitting at 21.5 percent.
Vietnam’s stock market indexes have been in the news a lot lately as the country pushes for an upgrade from a frontier to an emerging market. There are, however, a number of obstacles still standing in the local bourse’s path before an upgrade can be made and it may still yet be languishing in MSCI’s Frontier Markets Index for some time to come.
See also: Vietnam’s Stock Market Upgrade Opportunity: Unpacked
Foreign traders net-withdraw another US$73 million
Foreign traders on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange have continued to net withdraw from the market. From May 10 to May 16 foreign traders managed to net-with draw a total of US$73 million. This brings the total taken out of the market by foreign traders this year to US$974.3 million.
Foreign trader activity, last five trading days
| Buy | Sell | Change | ||||
| Date | VND* | US$ | VND* | US$ | VND* | US$ |
| 10/5 | 1,261 | $49,564,614 | 1,763 | $69,296,125 | -502 | -$19,731,512 |
| 13/5 | 1,445 | $56,796,881 | 2,298 | $90,324,728 | -853 | -$33,527,847 |
| 14/5 | 1,178 | $46,302,232 | 1,975 | $77,628,955 | -797 | -$31,326,723 |
| 15/5 | 2,248 | $88,359,438 | 1,954 | $76,803,533 | 294 | $11,555,905 |
| 16/5 | 1,928 | $75,781,582 | 1,926 | $75,702,971 | 2 | $78,612 |
| Total | 8,060 | $316,804,748 | 9,916 | $389,756,313 | -1,856 | -$72,951,565 |
| *billions | ||||||
Source: www.hsx.vn
Trade news
Vietnam customs data for April sees export growth, trade surplus slip
Vietnam customs data released last week shows a slight downturn in exports in April, losing 7.7 percent over March. That said, exports were still up over the first four months of the year by 15.1 percent compared to 2023. Imports were also down 2.9 percent in April over March but also up 15.1 percent over the first four months of the year compared to 2023.
Vietnam trade breakdown, first four months of 2024
| Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | April |
| Imports | 30,898,421,447 | 23,303,704,383 | 30,881,001,417 | 29,986,518,554 |
| Exports | 34,530,824,568 | 24,685,447,297 | 33,659,175,457 | 31,052,684,042 |
| Balance | 3,632,403,121 | 1,381,742,914 | 2,778,174,040 | 1,066,165,488 |
Source: Vietnam’s General Department of Customs
What’s next?
In a dynamic business environement like Vietnam there is always a lot happening and as a result keeping track of regulatory changes and general business news can be difficult. With this in mind, foreign investors operating in Vietnam or considering operating in Vietnam should make sure to subscribe to the-shiv.