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The Upgrade That Didn’t Come
For the second year on the trot, MSCI kept Vietnam off its upgrade watch list. The reasons for it haven’t changed much. Foreign ownership caps still cover more than one-tenth of the stock market, there’s still no offshore currency market, and the long promised Central Counterparty clearing house is not expected to be ready until at least early 2027. Vietnam has come out with some real reforms, including a global broker model that lets foreign investors trade without opening local accounts and a phased English disclosure requirement through 2028. MSCI acknowledged the progress, then still said no. That makes the CCP the milestone that we should be watching in advance of the next review in 2027. Citi sees things differently, calling Vietnam “a broader investment banking story” after Ho Chi Minh City launched its International Financial Center with support from Nasdaq, VinaCapital, Sovico, Son Kim Capital, and three commercial banks.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review (2027 review timeline), The Investor (FTSE upgrade), VnExpress (Citi deal activity)
Hanoi Rewrites FDI Rulebook
Hanoi is changing how it governs foreign investors. A new Politburo resolution is making a shift away from the old play of tax holidays and toward rewarding companies that deliver on arrival. The government wants $200-300 billion in registered FDI by 2030, three-quarters of that coming from developed economies, around 10,000 Vietnamese firms supplying foreign companies, and at least three of the world's biggest tech companies setting up regional headquarters or R&D centers in Vietnam. The global minimum tax has made the old tax breaks far less valuable, and Hanoi knows it. Future support will depend on significant technology transfer and value creation, making it harder for low value assembly projects to pick up incentives.
Read more: Vietnam News
Hanoi Takes Nuclear Wish List to Kazan
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung used his first meeting with Vladimir Putin to push a more ambitious economic agenda with a $15 billion bilateral trade target and another attempt to revive the long delayed Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Trade between the two countries was $4.77 billion in 2025, so the new target would roughly triple current levels. The nuclear project got another agreed roadmap, but still no timeline. Hung also asked Russia to ease restrictions on Vietnamese seafood, garments, and footwear under the Vietnam-EAEU free trade agreement.
Read more: VnEconomy (cultural centers, railways), VnExpress (FTA renegotiation), VnEconomy (five priority areas)
Chips are Shipping
High-tech products made up for more than half of Vietnam's exports in Q1 2026 for the first time, a big deal, following years of foreign investment. AMC Robotics is adding to the performance, investing $3.5 million in a new 6,150 square meter factory in Bac Ninh to produce its NovaArm robotic arm from 2H 2026. Bac Ninh has become one of Southeast Asia's biggest manufacturing hubs, in part due to Samsung's largest factory complex (worldwide) being there.
Read more: Vietnam Insider (VNG revenue), The AI Insider (NovaArm production), Investing.com (AMCI market cap)
Jets and Giant Ships
The US Export-Import Bank will finance Vietnam Airlines' $2.9 billion purchase of 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled for between 2030 and 2032. The financing is noteworthy because Washington is backing one of Boeing's biggest aircraft sales in Southeast Asia. Separately, the 399 meter MATZ MAERSK, carrying about 18,270 containers, became one of the largest ships ever to dock at a Vietnamese port. For northern exporters, it means cargo will be able to head straight to global markets instead of stopping at transshipment hubs first.
Read more: AeroTime (Ex-Im financing), VnEconomy (HHIT throughput)
Tourism Gets Fresh Money
Vinpearl has raised $255 million from SeaTown Holdings, the Oman Investment Authority, and the Vietnam Oman Investment Fund by way of convertible preference shares. The investment comes as international interest in Vietnam tourism continues to grow, (accommodation searches were up almost 50 percent through 2025). Searches from France more than tripled and the Philippines became Agoda's sixth largest source market. Vinpearl runs more than 17,500 five-star hotel rooms, 16 VinWonders theme parks, and six golf courses nationwide.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review (SeaTown), Hospitality Net (source markets)
Confidence Bounces Back
Business confidence in Vietnam has almost doubled over the past year, and now 85 percent of companies are expecting a stronger performance y-o-y for 2026, according to UOB. More than nine in ten expect better revenue through 2028. Four in five are diversifying suppliers, almost two-thirds see ASEAN as their preferred overseas growth market, and a similar share plans to increase AI spending by more than 25 percent. Nearly half, however, still say tariffs and geopolitical tensions are driving up costs.
Read more: Vietnam News
Too Little Lychee
Luc Ngan's famous lychee harvest is expected to be about half the size of last year's after poor flowering and pollination weather. Buyers who once purchased fruit directly from orchards are now chasing supplies at roadside collection points as prices increase and quality becomes harder to judge. Traders are also saying that the fruit's high sugar content means it dries out quickly in the sun, leaving very little time to get it from the orchard onto trucks.
Read more: VnExpress
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.
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