Economy

Workers head home at quitting time at Nike contractor Changshin in Vietnam, one of five communist countries with a single, national labor union. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Vietnam factory malaise raises specter of New Year labor strikes

Global slump pushes communist country from export boom to salary gloom

30 December 2022
People ride motorcycles in Hanoi on May 31, 2021. 
Economy

Vietnam GDP grows 8.02% in 2022; fastest expansion in 25 years

Reading higher than official growth target of 6.0%-6.5%

29 December 2022
The skyline of Mumbai's financial district. India is expected to see some of the region's biggest pay raises next year.
Inflation

Asia's wage hikes to accelerate in 2023

Surveys show pay raises likely to beat price rises as employers eye retention

28 December 2022
Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist destination in northern Vietnam, is only drawing around half as many foreign visitors as before the pandemic, local industry officials say. (Photo by Tomoya Onishi)
Travel & Leisure

Foreign tourism in Vietnam a shadow of pre-COVID boom

Visa policy, missing Chinese blamed for slow recovery; India offers hope

18 December 2022
A factory in Vietnam operated by Matsuoka Corporation, a Uniqlo supplier. (Photo courtesy of Matsuoka Corporation)
Business trends

Vietnam, Cambodia draw Japanese apparel makers away from China

Uniqlo suppliers and others lured by lower labor costs and RCEP tariff reductions

8 December 2022
A worker maintains power lines in Vietnam. Coal is the leading fuel for state-run Vietnam Electricity Group's power plants.
Energy

Vietnam utility EVN eyes electricity rate hike as coal costs rise

Request suggests increase of at least 5%, as company heads toward $1.3bn loss

6 December 2022
Vietnamese technical interns work at a construction site in Tokyo. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Japan immigration

Japan to lose pay appeal for Vietnamese, Indonesian workers by 2032: study

Stagnant Japanese wages risk making Southeast Asians look elsewhere for jobs

5 December 2022
A company displays lumber in Vietnam, whose wood products industry is grappling with risks ranging from the Ukraine war to fake forest certificates and U.S. trade probes. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Vietnam's wood trade under pressure from logging, Ukraine war

Murky origins plague furniture sector coming down from COVID-fueled buying spree

28 October 2022
A garment factory in Vietnam. Slow demand in the West is bad news for the country's export-oriented businesses. (File photo by Rie Ishii)
Supply Chain

Vietnamese factories go idle as orders from the West slow

In run-up to holiday, demand drops for Asian exports from smartphones to sweaters

18 October 2022
Japan's attractiveness as a place to work continues to fade as the yen weakens and wages rise in other Asian countries.
Datawatch

Foreign workers shun Japan as yen's value plunges

Average wage in dollar terms falls 40% over 10 years

16 October 2022
The Go! hypermarket, pictured here in Vietnam's Lao Cai province, is one of several chains Central Retail operates in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Central Group)
Retail

Thailand's Central Retail leads rush of global retailers to Vietnam

Vietnam's exceptional economic growth draws retailers of all stripes

4 October 2022
A man uses a tablet in a coffee shop in Hanoi: Data localization requirements can increase cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Opinion

Data localization rules will set back Vietnam's digital economy

Requirements for in-country storage can actually increase security risks

30 September 2022
Recovery in private consumption contributed Vietnam's double-digit growth in the third quarter.
Economy

Vietnam GDP grows 13.67% in Q3 on brisk exports to U.S.

Big leap also benefited from year-earlier contraction and consumer spending

29 September 2022
People shop for food in a market in Hanoi: Vietnam's economy is to grow faster than its Asia-Pacific peers this year, expanding by 7.2%, the World Bank said in its latest forecast.
Economy

Vietnam emerges as Asia's growth leader as China slows

Food, fuel subsidies risk long-term distortion, warns World Bank

27 September 2022
A Facebook page of a group called Believe in the Party: The social media network is too important to Hanoi to be blocked.
Opinion

Data localization is the wrong fight for Big Tech in Vietnam

Facebook and YouTube have leverage to push back on censorship demands

25 September 2022
A woman works a rice field in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The country is considering price hikes for rice exports along with Vietnam, another major rice exporter.
Inflation

Vietnam, Thailand to meet in Oct. about raising rice export prices

Hikes could hit 20%, adding fuel to global inflation

16 September 2022
Vietnam's regulations forcing companies to store user data on domestic servers are expected to affect social media platforms like Google's YouTube and Meta's Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Technology

Vietnam data storage law rankles Big Tech and CPTPP trade bloc

China-like restrictions set companies scrambling in key test of Pacific trade deal

15 September 2022
Oil tanks at a petroleum depot in the port of Vladivostok, Russia. Myanmar starts importing Russian fuel oil as early as September.
Ukraine war

Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar deepen Russia ties to blunt economic woes

Southeast Asia nations seen giving Moscow breathing room on sanctions

6 September 2022
An audio parts factory outside Hanoi. Foreign manufacturers are moving beyond big cities, distributing the fruits of trade more evenly around Vietnam. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Export demand a boon for Vietnam provinces, pre-built factories

Supply chains for Samsung, Lazada push trade to second-tier industrial zones

2 September 2022
Robert Li, a vice president at Synopsys, speaks with reporters in Ho Chi Minh City, where the chip software company is rebalancing operations amid a China-U.S. tech war. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Semiconductors

U.S. chip tool maker Synopsys expands in Vietnam amid China tech war

Design software company to train engineers as U.S. expands export ban

26 August 2022
Group of Seven countries and democratic allies like Australia are dangling infrastructure support in Southeast Asia as an alternative to China's Belt and Road.
Asia Insight

China's ASEAN Silk Road gets slippery as other powers move in

U.S., Europe, India join battle to build regional supply chains from Thailand to Vietnam

23 August 2022
Producing the highly sophisticated Apple Watch would be a win for Vietnam as it attempts to further upgrade its tech manufacturing sector. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Technology

Vietnam to make Apple Watch and MacBook for first time ever

Country benefits as tech giant looks to build more products outside of China

17 August 2022
Bananas are displayed at a shop in Halle, Belgium. Eaten across the world, the fruit is grown in the tropics, from Southeast Asia to Latin America.
Agriculture

Banana growers fight renewed extinction risk as lethal fungus spreads

Resurgence of Panama disease threatens one of world's most valuable crops

8 August 2022
Tan Son Nhat Airport, near Ho Chi Minh City, has faced a severe taxi shortage. (Photo by Tomoya Onishi)
Transportation

Vietnam taxi shortage exasperates travelers and expats

Fistfights and 1-hour waits at airport as riders scrum over cabs

6 August 2022
Fitch Ratings said in a report last month that Singapore banks are poised to benefit from the rise in global interest rates as economic recovery continues across the lenders' key markets.
Finance

DBS, other ASEAN banks ride U.S. rate hikes to stronger earnings

Southeast Asia's largest banks expect higher returns from lending

5 August 2022