Vietnam

Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen here in January 2017, will address a virtual Davos Agenda event hosted by the World Economic Forum.
Your Week in Asia

Xi addresses Davos, Samsung results, Vietnam party congress

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

24 January 2021
Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, in Jan. 2020.
Politics

Laos' new leader to play balancing act between China and Vietnam

New secretary-general looks to largest lender Beijing despite strong ties with Hanoi

20 January 2021
A mostly maskless crowd celebrates the new year countdown in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. 
The Big Story

Asia's COVID recovery: Vietnam's breakout moment

A once-in-a-generation opportunity for the country that got it right

20 January 2021
Orders for AI Inside's software surged last year as governments scrambled to process documents during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source photo by AI Inside)
Startups

Japanese $2.5bn AI startup targets Vietnam after COVID boost

AI Inside forges local partnership to market text recognition software

18 January 2021
Vietnam's smartphone penetration stood at about 45% in 2020, but only 30% were served by the banking sector.
DealStreetAsia

Vietnamese ride-hailer launches digital bank with VPBank

Be to improve user experience with help from 'big data'

16 January 2021
Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has been elected as the country's secretary-general. (Photo by Manami Yamada)
Politics

Laos promotes PM Thongloun as leader of communist party

Under new secretary-general, impoverished nation expected to pivot futher to China

15 January 2021
An Isuzu factory in Thailand. The kingdom began developing into "Asia's factory" during the 1980s. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
Economy

Thailand's Mekong play gives it leg up as Vietnam wins factories

Strong ties to neighbors prime the kingdom to share in the region's growth

14 January 2021
Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. China is Laos' largest lender.
Economy

Laos shifts to China equity from loans as party congress starts

Beijing's communist sibling pushed to salvage state enterprises amid pandemic

13 January 2021
Yoko Onsen is Vietnam's first Japanese-style hot spring resort targeted at well-heeled consumers.
Travel & Leisure

Vietnam's first Japanese-style onsen resort gains popularity

Visit by prime minister helps promote local tourism amid COVID pandemic

9 January 2021
Ecoligo's solar installation atop a factory in Chon Buri, Thailand.
Energy

Vietnam and Thailand attract German solar energy funds

Green crowd investing platform Ecoligo scents growth as manufacturing booms

8 January 2021
Shopee is now Vietnam's most-visited e-commerce site, followed by Mobile World, Tiki and Alibaba's Lazada. (Source photos by Kentaro Iwamoto, Reuters and courtesy of Tiki) 
Business Spotlight

Alibaba and Shopee clash in Vietnam as ASEAN e-commerce war rages

COVID triggers tie-ups and investment as region's tech battleground shifts

8 January 2021
Viettel is the largest mobile operator in Vietnam, accounting for over 40% of the nation's total subscribers. (Photo courtesy of Viettel)
Technology

Vietnam's top telco revamps to ditch 'middle-aged' image

Viettel offers panoply of new digital services to woo younger customers

7 January 2021
Masked Taiwanese were able to take part in a New Year's celebration as the island kept the coronavirus at bay with rigorous testing. 
Coronavirus

Asian trio of Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore keep COVID near zero

Strict quarantines and testing stamp out local transmission

6 January 2021
A souvenir seller who is a supporter of Donald Trump shows images of the President at his shop in Hanoi on Nov. 5, 2020: Trump's anti-China rhetoric resonated with Vietnamese sensibilities.
Opinion

Vietnam's unlikely love affair with Donald Trump

Huge support is the culmination of centuries of national identity development

5 January 2021
Human rights activist Le Van Dun, right, livestreams on Facebook in a coffee shop in Hanoi.
Technology

Asia dilemma: social networks pressed by Turkey and Vietnam to censor critics

YouTube and Facebook weigh reputation damage of bowing to repressive governments

3 January 2021
Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai speaks to Nikkei on Dec. 15 in Tokyo. (Photo by Makoto Okada)
Interview

Asia will lead spending recovery, Uniqlo CEO Yanai says

Economizing consumers will prefer reliable, quality everyday clothes

1 January 2021
A coal-fired plant in Paiton, East Java, Indonesia. For more than a decade corporate Japan has been backing the government's diplomatic strategy in Southeast Asia by pitching in on power plants.
Environment

Mitsubishi Corp. faces investor backlash over Vietnam coal plant

Asset managers pressure Japan's trading houses to withdraw from Asia projects

30 December 2020
A coal power plant in Germany: New coal-fired projects face criticism from environmental groups and investors around the world.
Energy

Vietnam coal power plant receives $1.8bn loan from Japan lenders

State-backed JBIC and big banks resist criticism from Western investors

30 December 2020
A wind park in Vietnam's Bac Lieu Province.
Energy

Nike and H&M to Vietnam: More renewables, please

29 global fashion brands say green energy will boost No. 3 textile exporter

29 December 2020
A bedding factory in Hanoi: Vietnam has succeeded in curbing both the health and economic impact of COVID-19.
Economy

Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia seen fully recovering in 2021

IMF unveils mixed economic forecasts for Southeast Asia

29 December 2020
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong make their way to a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Feb. 27, 2019.
Politics

Vietnam's leader wants a successor tough on corruption

General secretary's decision at January congress in focus as candidates jockey

25 December 2020
Toi Nguyen has won accolades for Robusta coffee grown at his farm in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Namamame Honpo)
Business trends

From Uganda to Vietnam, Robusta coffee turns critics into fans

Coronavirus demand drives global rediscovery of often-snubbed bean

22 December 2020
General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, right, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, left, are preparing for the Communist Party of Vietnam's next congress. The meeting will decide the leadership lineup and goals for the next five years.
Asia Insight

Vietnam's Communists brace for next 5 years after big 2020

Party has COVID, Big Tech and dissent under control; can it keep economy humming?

22 December 2020
Garment workers seen at a factory in Haiphong: Vietnam now has the fourth-largest trade surplus against the U.S. (Photo courtesy of the International Labour Organization)
Trade

Vietnam, with larger trade surplus than Japan, draws US ire

Currency manipulator label likely to hamper 'China plus one' strategy

18 December 2020
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Dec. 2.
Trade

Trump administration lands parting shot on Vietnam over currency

Biden treasury pick Janet Yellen likely to lead less combative approach

17 December 2020