In this week’s Vietnam News Roundup: Electric motorbike sales outpace petrol bikes; dong strengthens; ADB lifts 2025 growth forecast to 6.7%; PMI holds at 50.4; Trump golf project delayed by land clearance; the forthcoming FTSE Russell upgrade announcement; foreigners net-sell US$307m; new U.S. tariffs hit furniture, and more.…
In case you missed it…
Momentum Stalled: Vietnam Stock Market Outlook October 2025
Vietnam’s key stock market has had a meteoric rise this year, with its key index gaining 395 points since January.
That rapid growth, however, has been driven by just a few stocks and a lot of hype, the latter of which looks like it may be tapering off as economic realities come to bear.
It’s in this framework that this Outlook reviews what happened in September and considers what this might mean moving forward into October. Read More »
Automotive news
Electric motorbike sales in Vientam jump
Vietnam’s electric motorbike market saw sales in the first eight months of 2025 outpace gasoline-powered two-wheelers, VN Express has reported → view source.
Sales of electric models not requiring a licence jumped 89 percent year-on-year, while those that do surged 197 percent. (Note that it doesn’t specify numbers, so it might be that it was from a low base.)
In contrast, traditional motorbike sales rose by 14.8 percent, bringing total motorbike sales to 2.08 million units, up 15.2 percent.
The publication says lower operating costs and government policy are key drivers, specifically the plan to ban internal combustion engine motorbikes in central Hanoi from July 2026.
See also: Vietnam’s Petrol Motorbike Ban: Intent Versus Economic Reality
Local currency strengthens against the greenback
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) allowed the local currency to strengthen this week, with the central exchange rate ending Thursday at VND 25,177, down 9 dong since last Thursday.
Conversely, the black market mid-market rate edged up from VND 26,540 to VND 26,565.
The SBV continued to pump money into the economy with just over US$6.88 billion worth of reverse repos outstanding as of the close of business on October 2. This was up slightly from US$6.36 billion at the same time last week.
There were no new treasury bills issued; however, there were still US$65.7 million worth outstanding as of last night.
See also: How Low Can the Vietnamese Dong Go?
Economy news
Vietnam’s 2025 growth forecast nudged up to 6.7 percent as ADB trims regional outlook
Vietnam’s 2025 GDP growth forecast has been revised slightly higher to 6.7 percent, in the Asian Development Bank’s September 2025 update of its Asian Development Outlook (ADO).
The adjustment marks a 0.1 percentage point increase from ADB’s April forecast of 6.6 percent for Vietnam, underscoring continued resilience in manufacturing and investment.
However, the 2026 forecast was trimmed to 6.0 percent, down from 6.5 percent, reflecting longer-term structural headwinds.
This comes amid cuts in projections for Southeast Asia on the whole and all other ASEAN states.
See also: Is Vietnam the Next Asian Tiger Economy?
Manufacturing news
Vietnam manufacturing PMI steady at 50.4 in September
Vietnam’s manufacturing sector maintained modest growth in September, with the S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) unchanged at 50.4, signalling a third consecutive month of slight improvement → view source.
The stabilisation was underpinned by a renewed rise in new orders, following a small decline in August.
Export demand remained weak but showed signs of nearing stabilisation, with the slowest pace of decline in nearly a year.
Of note, September was the first full month that the Trump tariffs announced earlier in the year were active.
See also: Trump’s Vietnam Trade Deal Announcement: Sectors to Watch
Real estate news
Delays in land clearance stall Trump golf resort project in northern Vietnam
The Trump International Hung Yen project in northern Vietnam has been delayed due to slow land clearance, The Investor has reported → view source.
Hung Yen authorities have said compensation approvals and administrative procedures have fallen behind schedule and have now set an October deadline, threatening to hold communes to account for further delays, though it’s not clear what that might mean in practice.
Of note, the project is largely considered part of a number of measures to curry favour with the Trump administration to garner concessions in trade negotiations.
Despite announcing the project earlier this year, Vietnam was still hit with a 20 percent largely in line with its regional neighbours, and therefore it does not seem this strategy has been as effective as had been hoped.
There are also questions about whether or not the company running the US$1.5 billion project, Kinh Bac, will be able to raise the funds needed to complete it.
See also: Could A Trump Tower Really Break Ground in Vietnam Next Year?
Stock market news
FTSE Russell upgrade announcement due Wednesday
FTSE Russell is set to announce the results of its reclassification review of the HoSE next Wednesday, October 8.
Notably, two key criteria, the time it takes to swap money for shares, and fees or losses that occur when a trade doesn’t go through, have not been possible to assess in the past on account of traders being required to make payment up front.
However, upfront payments for institutional investors have now been removed.
That said, FTSE Russell still requires a practical assessment, and with just one failed trade recorded, there is very little data to make a proper evaluation, and therefore, it seems unlikely this will get up.
See also: Vietnam’s Stock Market Upgrade Opportunity: Unpacked
VN-Index gains 1 point, foreign traders continue to exit
Over the last five trading sessions to the close of business on October 2, foreign investors net-sold US$307.3 million worth of HCMC Stock Exchange stocks.
This brings the total net sold by foreign traders for the year-to-date to just under US$3.88 billion.
The VN-Index closed Thursday at 1,666.09 points, down 13.38 points since last Thursday.
See also: Explainer: What’s Driving Vietnam’s Stock Market Rally?
Foreign trader activity, last five trading days
| Buy | Sell | Change | ||||
| Date | VND | US$ | VND | US$ | VND | US$ |
| 26/9 | 1,911 | $72.40 | 3,961 | $150.06 | -2,050 | -$77.66 |
| 29/9 | 2,348 | $88.95 | 3,106 | $117.67 | -758 | -$28.72 |
| 30/9 | 3,019 | $114.38 | 4,309 | $163.25 | -1,290 | -$48.87 |
| 1/10 | 1,858 | $70.39 | 3,513 | $133.09 | -1,655 | -$62.70 |
| 2/10 | 1,634 | $61.90 | 3,991 | $151.20 | -2,357 | -$89.30 |
| Total | 10,770 | $408.02 | 18,880 | $715.27 | -8,110 | -$307.25 |
VND = billions; US$ = millions; source: HSX
Trade news
New Trump tariffs bad news for Vietnam furniture industry
Donald Trump announced new tariffs effective 1 October 2025 on imports of pharmaceuticals, furniture, and heavy trucks into the United States.
Furniture, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and related items will face a 50 percent tariff, while upholstered furniture will be hit with a 30 percent tariff.
Vietnam’s exports of seats and furniture to the US are substantial, exceeding US$12 billion in 2024.
In pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks, however, the impact will be limited, with Vietnam’s truck exports to the US valued at just US$0.17 million in 2024 and pharmaceutical exports to the US at around US$2.54 million in 2024 under HS 3004.
See also: What’s Next for Vietnam if Trump’s 46 Percent Tariff is Here To Stay?
The week ahead
Economic data for the third quarter of 2025 is due to be released by the National Statistics Office on Monday.
With the economy somewhat of an anomaly in the region, this should offer some interesting insights into what’s driving its strong growth and how sustainable it might be.
There are a handful of events coming up this week. For more information, see: Doing Business in Vietnam: Events Directory 2025.