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Headlines:
SOEs Chase Regional Glory
Power Grid Stares Down a Crunch
Real Estate Credit Soars
First Chip Plant Breaks Ground
Chip Equipment Rules Tighten
Crypto Exchanges Exit Gray Zone
Shrimp Today, Bets Tomorrow
Seoul’s Nuclear Dreams
SOEs Chase Regional Glory
The Politburo is betting big on state firms, hoping that 50 Vietnamese SOEs will manage to crack Southeast Asia’s top 500 by 2030, with maybe 1-3 actually breaking into the global top 500. State banks are expected to chase spots among Asia’s 100 largest by assets, and national reserves should hit 2% of GDP by 2045. The October resolution pushes efficiency reforms and sets targets showing the government is doubling down on SOEs as development engines rather than privatizing them. Watch to see if state firms can genuinely compete at this level or not - it’ll be a good indication of how serious these reforms are likely to end up.
Read more: Vietnam News
Power Grid Stares Down a Crunch
Vietnam’s power grid is staring down a crunch, as power demand is expected to climb 12% to 15% annually through 2030. The government is scrambling to prevent a shortfall, ordering more substations, more power imports from Laos and China, and faster buildouts of LNG plants and offshore wind projects. Vietnam Electricity and the state energy groups will handle execution. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is proposing changes to the Electricity Law to make it easier to get LNG power plants built. The country has committed to developing 8,000 MW of LNG capacity by 2030, and the reforms should streamline investment procedures and ensure stable LNG supply by 2025. The push shores up energy security—renewable energy must hit 30% of total electricity generation by decade’s end, and the government is betting LNG can fill the gap as coal gets phased out.
Read more: Vietnam News (Crunch), Tradingview (LNG)
Real Estate Credit Soars
Real estate credit is up 28% this year and has crossed $76 billion, with urban development and housing making up roughly a third at $24 billion. Foreign direct investment in the sector hit $8.1 billion and made up more than a fifth of total FDI. The Prime Minister has told the central bank to tighten oversight of real estate lending, as he signals that the government is getting nervous about speculative risk in a fast moving market.
Read more: Hanoitimes
First Chip Plant Breaks Ground
The nation’s first domestic semiconductor plant started construction in mid-October, part of the government’s effort to build out a local chip ecosystem and cut dependence on foreign imports. The facility is expected to juice tech capabilities and support the attraction of more high-tech investment. The country has been vocal about its semiconductor ambitions, though manufacturing chips at scale will test whether Vietnam can move beyond assembly work. Timeline and capacity details remain conspicuously absent.
Read more: Digitimes
Chip Equipment Rules Tighten
Import rules on used semiconductor machinery are getting tightened starting this year. A new circular says imported equipment is not allowed to “be obsolete or environmentally harmful” and must meet performance and age limits. Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan already have similar requirements, so the rule isn’t totally out of left field. The rules are intended to reduce compliance uncertainty and show that Vietnam is serious about moving up the semiconductor value chain.
Read more: Hktdc
Crypto Exchanges Exit Gray Zone
A formal licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges is here under the banner of “Decision No. 96/QD-BTC” (really rolls off the tongue) from the Ministry of Finance. The rule introduces three procedures for licensing, adjustment, and revocation. About 10 banks and securities firms have shown interest in elbowing into the space. The pilot program is an attempt to bring crypto trading out of the legal shadows as the government figures out how to regulate a market that’s already very active.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review
Shrimp Today, Bets Tomorrow
Seafood exports were up more than a tenth last year, at $9.3 billion this year, with shrimp alone bringing in about a third of that total ($3.6 billion). China is signaling that it’s going to buy 28.5% more again than it did last year. If it happens, it will make it easier on the government, which is setting a $10.5 billion target. Officials are also offering three-year corporate tax holidays to new SMEs and pushing to nearly double the enterprise count to 2 million to support the industry.
Read more: Seafood Source (export revenue breakdown), Vietnam News (SME tax incentives)
Seoul’s Nuclear Dreams
Korea is preparing for a $22 billion nuclear plant bid and is signing deals for eco-industrial parks in Dong Nai. Vietnam is expected to build up to 6.4 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035, and Korea’s KEPCO is pushing Seoul to get its export strategy committee in gear to push the contract through a new Planned Export Finance Fund. KoCham and KN Holdings have also just signed an MoU on patient, incremental cooperation to support a bid for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review (eco-park strategy), Maeil Kyungje Pulse (nuclear project bid)
That’s it for this week!
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