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☆ Vietnam Q1 GDP growth slows as weak demand hits exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Khanh Vu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, March 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's economic growth slowed to 3.32% in the first quarter, against a 5.92% year-on-year expansion in the fourth quarter of 2022, government data showed on Wednesday, as exports of smartphones and electronics fell sharply. The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, reported an 11.9% fall in overall exports in the January-March period from a year earlier due to weakening global demand. Industrial production in the first quarter fell 2.3% from a year earlier, while retail sales of goods and services rose 13.9%, the GSO said. Vietnam is targeting 6.5% growth of gross domestic product this year, below a decade-high expansion of 8.02% last year. "We expect economic activity to remain weak this year given the challenging external demand backdrop and the lagged impact of monetary tightening," Capital Economics said.

☆ Vietnam sends ship to track Chinese vessel patrolling Russian gas field in EEZ -data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - A Vietnamese ship monitored a Chinese Coast Guard vessel on Saturday in a Russian-operated gas field in Vietnam's South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ), data show - the latest Chinese patrol in a pattern stretching more than a year. The patrols mirror Chinese Coast Guard activity elsewhere in the South China Sea, where such vessels have been used to assert territorial claims. A spokeswoman for Vietnam's foreign ministry said on Friday that Vietnam acts in the South China Sea “to protect its legal rights”. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei are among other countries that have competing claims in the South China Sea. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have also patrolled the Tuna block; in January, Indonesia deployed a warship to monitor a Chinese ship there.

☆ Vietnam's VPBank completes $1.5 bln stake sale to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPB.HM) said on Monday it has sold a 15% stake for $1.5 billion to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T), expanding the Japanese bank's presence in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. Following the investment, VPBank, whose business ranges across retail, corporate, consumer finance and wealth management operations, will become Vietnam's second-largest private lender by charter capital, with $5.96 billion. The deal comes as Vietnam's central bank seeks to tighten limits on holding stakes in banks, a move that may make the banking sector less attractive to foreigners. Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan's second-largest banking group is seeking to capture growth in Asian emerging markets through acquisitions, spurred by limited business opportunities at home with ultra-low interest rates and an ageing population. In late 2021, it acquired a 49% stake in Vietnamese consumer lender FE Credit from VPBank.

☆ VinFast rolls out long-awaited electric SUVs, eyes overseas deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 23 (Reuters) - Vietnamese carmaker VinFast said on Thursday it will begin delivering its new electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to local customers this week and targets overseas deliveries in the coming months. VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is gearing up to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers with its two electric SUV models. The VF9 model was initially scheduled to debut at the beginning of this year. The company has said it would ship the second batch to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2023. As of December last year, VinFast said it secured 55,000 orders globally, of which 12,000 were from the U.S. market.

☆ Vietnam may resist diplomatic upgrade with Washington as U.S.-China tensions simmer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States is hoping for an upgrade in the relations this year, ideally to coincide with the 10th anniversary in July of its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam. The United States is a major investor in Vietnam and the largest ever U.S. business mission visited the country this week. Though it is Vietnam's biggest export market, it is currently ranked as a third-tier diplomatic partner for Hanoi. A formal ties upgrade this year "is not considered realistic anymore," said Florian Feyerabend, the representative in Vietnam for Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Le Hong Hiep, a Senior Fellow at Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, said there was no doubt Vietnam wants to upgrade ties with Washington, but it was unlikely to agree to that this year.

☆ Vietnam seizes 7 tonnes ivory in largest wildlife smuggling case in years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 20 (Reuters) - Vietnamese authorities on Monday seized seven tonnes of ivory smuggled from Angola, the largest seizure of wildlife products in years, the government said. Trade in ivory is illegal in Vietnam but wildlife trafficking remains widespread. Other items often found smuggled into the country include pangolin scales, rhino horns and tiger carcasses. This followed the finding of more than 600 kilograms of African ivory last month at the city's Lach Huyen Port. Last month, a court in Vietnam sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for trafficking nearly 10 tonnes of endangered animal parts from Africa, including ivory and rhino horns.

☆ Vietnam's VinFast says three sales executives have left EV company
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Phuong Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein/File PhotoHANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - Vietnamese electric-vehicle (EV) start-up VinFast said on Friday three senior sales and customer-service have left the company this week. In a statement to Reuters, VinFast said Gareth Dunsmore, deputy chief executive for global sales and marketing, had left "due to personal reasons and we respect his decision". VinFast has been selling the first batch of VF8s, rebranded as the City Edition to account for the lower range, on lease in California. In June, VinFast said it had ended its contract with Franck Euvrard, the predecessor as deputy CEO for global sales to just-departed Dunsmore. VinFast lost $2.1 billion in 2022 on revenue of $634 million, it said in a registration statement for an IPO.

☆ Vietnam plans tighter limits on stakes in banks in blow to foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Phuong Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Currently, the combined stake of foreign investors in a bank cannot exceed 30%, while the cap for stakes in companies in many other sectors is set at 49%. The central bank said its proposed changes would reduce risks of market manipulation. A Bangkok-based fund manager who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to media, said the lower cap would impact foreign investors more as their holdings were more often closer to the current maximum. Analysts said tighter caps on banks' stake holders and borrowing could exacerbate liquidity challenges in Vietnam, at a time when the country's property developers are under pressure. The central bank also cut interest rates this week to spur growth and reduce pressure on debtors.

SINGAPORE/HANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - Asian real estate giant CapitaLand Group is in talks to acquire assets worth roughly $1.5 billion from Vietnam's biggest listed property firm Vinhomes JSC (VHM.HM), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A deal of that size would mark one of the largest real estate transactions in Southeast Asia in the last few years. The talks come as Vietnam's property sector is struggling with a cash crunch following an anti-graft campaign launched by the government last year. Vinhomes, Vietnam's biggest real estate developer by market capitalization, is part of Vingroup (VIC.HM), the country's largest conglomerate. Shares of Vinhomes have lost 10% so far this year, after tumbling 40% in 2022 as the property crisis deepened.

☆ SpaceX, Netflix, Boeing to join "biggest-ever" US business mission to Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing are among the companies joining the "biggest-ever" U.S. business mission to Vietnam next week to discuss investment and sales opportunities in the booming Southeast Asian nation, the organiser said. More than 50 companies, including defence, pharmaceutical and tech firms, will participate in the mission organised by the US-ASEAN Business Council, an industry body, according to a list seen by Reuters. "This is the biggest-ever mission in Vietnam," said Vu Tu Thanh, the US-ASEAN Business Council's representative in the country, noting that the body had been organising these events for three decades. The majority of the companies joining the business mission already have a business or manufacturing presence in Vietnam, including Apple (AAPL.O), Coca-Cola (KO.N) and PepsiCo (PEP.O), Thanh said, with some planning to expand it. Among them is SpaceX, which is looking to sell its satellite internet services to Vietnam and other countries in the region, Thanh said.

☆ Vietnam arrests Facebook user for attempt to 'overthrow the state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - Police in Vietnam on Friday arrested a Facebook user who authorities accuse of "attempting to overthrow the state" by sharing content that defamed leaders of the ruling Communist Party, its security ministry said. Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam's ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and tolerates little criticism, with dozens of people jailed for speaking out against authorities. Nha was also accused by police of joining and recruiting members for the U.S.-based "Provisional National Government of Vietnam", a group listed by the Vietnam as a "terrorist organisation", though not by the United States. The organisation, which could not be reached by Reuters, has previously pledged loyalty to the now defunct state of South Vietnam. Several people have been jailed in Vietnam accused of recruiting for the California-based group.

☆ Analysis: Chinese suppliers race to Vietnam as COVID let-up opens escape route from Sino-U.S. trade war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Adding impetus to the move is the increasing cost of labour in China, expanding U.S. restrictions on high-tech-related trade with China, and tit-for-tat tariffs from a Sino-U.S. trade war that triggered a past wave of Chinese investment in Vietnam. "Enquiries from Chinese firms about manufacturing investment in Vietnam grew exponentially in the last quarter of last year," said Michael Chan, senior director of leasing at industrial real estate specialist BW Industrial Development. "Chinese investment has also increased remarkably," he said. Chinese firms also experience longer times to obtain staff visas and work permits, said Filippo Bortoletti, who heads the Vietnamese unit of investment consultancy Dezan Shira. "Chinese companies move here mostly to serve their clients who moved earlier," said BW Industrial Development's Chan.

☆ Rio Tinto sees robust short term outlook for copper
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A worker stands at a processing facility at Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia March 13, 2023. RentsendorjKHANBOGD, Mongolia, March 14 (Reuters) - The short-term outlook for copper is "pretty healthy," with global stockpiles trending down and mine disruptions having eroded supply from Latin America, Rio Tinto's head of copper Bold Baatar said on Tuesday. "Physical stocks of inventories of copper are at multi-year lows," he said, adding that copper demand in China was "relatively strong." "So at the moment, even in the short-term outlook, there's a pretty healthy demand picture," Baatar said. Reporting by B. Rentsendorj at Oyu Tolgoi and Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Now overseas demand is slumping amidst a local credit crunch and a corruption crackdown. A trade agreement and warmer relations with Washington spared its manufacturers from tariffs and sanctions applied to its northern neighbour. Now overseas demand is stuttering. Vietnam's exports of goods and services have been slowingFollow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVietnam's economy grew 8.02% in 2022, the fastest annual pace since 1997, according to data released by the country’s General Statistics Office on Dec. 29. Vietnamese exports were flat in February and fell 23.4% in January compared to a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data released on March 9.

☆ VinFast delays US electric vehicle plant operation to 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We need more time to complete administrative procedures," VinFast said in a statement on the delay, which did not specify when in 2025 the plant was expected to start operations. Last year VinFast filed for an initial public offering in the United States to list on the Nasdaq to fund its the plant construction. VinFast started its first sales outside Vietnam last week, delivering its first 45 cars in California on the first day. Its revenue in 2022 was 14.9 trillion dong ($631 million), down about 6.9% against 2021. Net losses rose 55% to 49.8 trillion dong from 32.2 trillion dong, its latest prospectus showed.

The possible investments are part of a wider, long-term strategy to reduce exposure to China, two people familiar with the plan told Reuters. ASML's lithography systems can cost up to 160 million euros ($170 million) each and are used to create the circuitry of computer chips. The Dutch government on Wednesday announced new restrictionson exports impacting ASML's second-best range of chip-printing tools, which could lead to Chinese retaliation. Among the companies on the mission is Neways, which helps ASML develop electrical control units, power controls and wiring systems for lithography systems, according to the company's website. ASML supplier NTS Group, which is a provider of precision mechanics tools, is another company that will join the business trip, Brainport said.

IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (INGL.NS), is also comparing the A320neo with the Boeing 737 MAX as it weighs a major new order for narrow-body jets, they added. The split between wide- and narrow-body jets was not immediately clear. An IndiGo representative told Reuters the airline is constantly in talks with manufacturers as it plans its next phase of growth. IndiGo, which counts a 55% share of the domestic market, is widely expected to maintain Airbus as its supplier of narrow-body jets to squeeze out further economies of scale. Industry publication CAPA reported last month that IndiGo was looking at around 500 jets as Air India closed its own deal.

☆ VinFast delivers first 45 cars in US market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] VinFast electric vehicles are parked before delivery to their first customers at a store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Lisa BaertleinMarch 2 (Reuters) - Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast delivered its first 45 cars to customers in California on Wednesday, its first sales outside Vietnam. Last week, the company slashed the lease price on the VF8 electric crossover by 50%. It also dropped an option for consumers to rent the electric car's battery, a plan it had advertised as a way to bring down the cost of ownership. Andrew and Nikki Le, who ordered 11 VinFast cars, took delivery of the first of those at the store.

☆ Vietnam parliament elects Vo Van Thuong as new state president
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 2 (Reuters) - Vietnam's National Assembly on Thursday elected Vo Van Thuong as the country's new president, in a reshuffle of the country's top leadership amid a sweeping anti-graft campaign. In his first speech to the parliament as new president, Thuong said he will "resolutely" continue the fight against corruption. "I will be absolutely loyal to the fatherland, the people and the constitution, striving to fulfill the tasks assigned by the party, the state and the people," Thuong said in a statement that was broadcast on Vietnam's state television. Thuong was elected with 98.38% of the votes, according to the parliament's online portal. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen, Editing by Ed Davies, Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vietnam Communist Party nominates Vo Van Thuong as new president - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, March 1 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Communist Party has nominated Vo Van Thuong as the country's new president, two party sources said on Wednesday, following the sudden forced resignation in January of his predecessor as part of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign. Thuong, 52, is the youngest member of the party's Politburo, the country's top decision-making body, and is widely regarded as being close to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's most powerful figure. Both the government and Communist Party said on Wednesday the party's Central Committee had agreed on a nomination for president, without naming the candidate. The president in Vietnam holds a largely ceremonial role, but is among the top four political figures in the country, together with the party's general secretary, the prime minister and the head of the national assembly. Speaking at a party meeting last month, Thuong said: "The people's lawful and legitimate interests must be the important starting point of all the Party's guidelines and policies".

☆ Vietnam factory output up in Feb despite drop in smartphone production
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But indicating the caution among factory managers amid an uncertain global outlook, production of smartphones and cellphone parts, of which Vietnam is one of the world's biggest producers, fell despite a rise in exports. The country's statistics agency said on Tuesday that Vietnam's exports rose 11% in February from a year earlier and industrial output increased 3.6% in the same month. In the first two months of the year, industrial production was down 6.3% compared to the same period last year. Footwear production rose by nearly 19% in February on the year and exports climbed 4.1%, after a big fall in January. In total, Vietnam's exports rose sharply in February to $25.88 billion, after a 21.3% fall in January.

☆ Vietnam's factory output rises in February, exports up 11%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HANOI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Vietnam's exports rose 11% in February from a year earlier, and the country's industrial output increased 3.6% in the same month, according to data released by the country's statistics agency on Tuesday. Consumer prices in February rose 4.3% on the year, the General Statistics Office also said in a report. Reporting by Hanoi bureauOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ VinFast slashes lease prices for first U.S. buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Phuong Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Vietnam's VinFast, a fledgling electric vehicle (EV) maker, is pictured in a sales location at a shopping mall in Santa Monica, California, U.S., May 23, 2022. Its website showed as of Monday a monthly lease price of $399 for the vehicle for a 24-month lease. That amounts to a discount of between 33% and 54% from the initially advertised monthly lease price. VinFast said earlier this month that US Bancorp (USB.N) would provide lease financing for the company's sales in the United States. Vehicle subscription service Autonomy has a deal with VinFast to purchase 2,500 EVs, the companies said in November.

SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S streaming giant Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) is making preparations to open an office in Vietnam after years of negotiations with authorities and completing a risk assessment, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Netflix declined to comment in response to Reuters questions about its plans and its current operations in Vietnam. The office could open as early as late 2023 but will require a lengthy regulatory process that could take longer, according to one of the sources. As Vietnamese officials grow more confident in the country's rising consumer power, however, they have begun ramping up pressure on tech firms to abide by the rules. With the fastest growing middle class in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has become a key market for tech giants.

☆ Nike, Adidas shoe supplier Pou Chen to slash 6,000 jobs in Vietnam -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The firm's Pouyuen Vietnam factory will cut 3,000 jobs this month and not extend labour contracts for another 3,000 workers later this year, the officials said, declining to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media. The Pouyen Vietnam factory supplies global companies such as Nike Inc. (NKE.N) and Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) and is one the biggest employers in Ho Chi Minh City, with 50,500 workers. Pou Chen shares fell 1.2% in early afternoon trade in Taiwan in a broader market (.TWII) that was down just 0.1%. Telephone calls to a factory labour union official were not answered. The plan to cut jobs marks a reversal for the company that in 2021 faced a labour shortage and manufacturing disruption in Vietnam due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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