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Registered FDI $54.85B, Highest Since 2009
Vietnam has been able to rake in $54.85 billion in registered foreign investment so far this year, nearly three-quarters more than it did over the same period last year and the biggest haul since 2009. Singapore was the new projects leader, putting up $9.52 billion, which was comfortably ahead of South Korea’s $5.81 billion. Disbursement totaled $24.08 billion, a five-year high for the same 10-month period. The numbers are especially impressive since Hanoi has been working hard to make a shift toward what it calls “quality” over just getting money in the door at any cost. A new Politburo resolution and government action plan has made it clear that the orders from the top are to favor projects that add value and build ties with local firms.
Read more: VnEconomy (projects), VnEconomy (investment policy), VnEconomy (disbursement), Asian News Network (Luxembourg), Tuoi Tre (sectors)
Long Thanh Airport Opens December 24
Long Thanh International Airport is scheduled to open at midnight on December 24, with as many as 366 flights weekly. Vietnam Airlines will connect the new facility to Hanoi and several international destinations; Vietjet is planning domestic services to all the big business and tourism hotspots. The airport, about 40 km from Ho Chi Minh City, will, at opening, be able to handle 25 million passengers a year.
Read more: VnExpress (eventual capacity), Vietnam Insiders (investment)
Trade Passes $1T as October Surplus Sets Record
Two-way trade passed $1 trillion for the first time, finding a footing at $1.01 trillion so far this year. October produced a record $7.31 billion monthly surplus, but the balance over the full period is still a $12.07 billion deficit. The gap with China was $134.94 billion, and trade with the EU resulted in a $40.84 billion surplus. About $405 billion of exports were from foreign-invested firms, more than four times the domestic tally.
Read more: VnExpress (trade totals), Tuoi Tre (exports by sector)
ECCO Shuts HCMC Shoe Factory, 1.6k Jobs
Danish shoemaker ECCO is closing its Ho Chi Minh City factory and dissolving its local subsidiary. The move will result in the (hopefully temporary) loss of 1,611 jobs. The company (also shuttering another facility in Portugal) is blaming years of weak demand and excess global capacity. Local employers appear to be moving quickly to pick up the workers. Most ECCO contracts are ending November 30, and the company says it plans to pay “more than the statutory” severance.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review (Portugal), VnExpress (new jobs), ScandAsia (factory), VnExpress (ECCO)
Inflation Above Ideal: Power Cost and Fuel Tax Fall
Consumer prices are running a little hotter than is ideal; they’re up 4.57 percent already this year from January through October, and that’s above the full-year target of about 4.5 percent. October inflation was hotter than 5 percent as petrol went up almost 7 percent over 30 days. Some relief was found on November 1 when average retail electricity prices fell 2 percent, which is the first cut in nearly 20 years (the Covid period excepted), and the special consumption tax on petrol was reduced to zero until March 2027. The government expects the tax break to shave about VND1,500 to VND1,700 from the price of a liter of petrol.
Read more: Vietnam News (forecast), VnEconomy (electricity), VnEconomy (prices), VnExpress (target)
Hyundai Weighs $74.7M Stake in POSCO Plant
Hyundai Motor Group is considering a $74.7 million investment in POSCO Future M's synthetic graphite anode plant in Thai Nguyen. An LOI would give Hyundai first claim on the output as it works to figure out how to rely less on China for the battery material, but neither company has been able to agree on deal that works for both of them. POSCO Future M is building the $266.6 million plant and says orders are already enough to take up the output of its first phase. Hyundai's money could help fund a second phase, where mass production would be planned for 2028.
Read more: Upi
Foreign Employers Must Post Jobs, Report Hires From Nov 15
Foreign organizations and individuals who employ Vietnamese workers are going to have new hiring rules placed on them from the middle of this month. Under the new rules, they are required to report to their managing agency what positions they need to fill and will have to post each opening on one of the National Employment Exchange, another lawful job portal, or their own website. Employers are required to hire directly, though the agency is allowed to refer candidates on request. Then the employer needs to report each new hire, including the worker's identification number, position and start date, within 10 working days of signing a contract.
Read more: VnExpress
FPT Chip Testing Plant Starts Trials
FPT has started trial operations at a chip testing plant in Bac Ninh with a South Korean semiconductor company lined up as the first customer. The 1,600-square-meter plant has six lines and has the capacity to test as many as 300 million chips a year. FPT says it plans to add advanced packaging in the next phase and will give its Polytechnic students hands-on access to the lines starting in December.
Read more: Tuoi Tre (facility), VnEconomy (first order), Futurum Group (testing platform)
Europeans Drive Tourism Growth
Foreign arrivals were 19.5 million through the end of October, which puts the tally more-or-less on pace to meet the 25 million full-year target . Europe is driving the growth; arrivals from the continent were up by more than half to 3.22 million. Russian traffic has more than doubled to 1.25 million; it is now the third-largest market. Arrivals from second-place South Korea were down 6 percent to 3.4 million, so the tourism authority is plan refreshed promotions there and in China, India and Russia.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review (markets), Tuoi Tre (growth)
El Nino Stops Hydro Plant as Water Runs Low
The reservoir at Dakdrinh Hydropower in Quang Ngai is now down to 377 meters, which is barely above its minimum operating level of 375 meters, as El Nino has reduced inflows. The plant has stopped generating for now in order to save water for downstream homes, farms and the Dung Quat Economic Zone. Inflows and storage are at their lowest for a rainy season since the plant opened in 2014. Officials think (hope?) the shutdown will allow for an increase in reserves to above 400 meters by the end of this month.
Read more: Tuoi Tre
No Offshore Wind Project Cleared Despite Goal
No offshore wind project had been able to provide and clear all the required paperwork needed to begin investment and construction as of early October. The bureaucratic standstill is in conflict with an ambitious target of 6 to 10 GW by 2030. The revised national power plan allows for as much as 17,032 MW by 2035.
Read more: VnEconomy
Ministry Reissues Used Electronics Import Ban for 2027
The Ministry of Science and Technology has issued a new list of used digital devices that will not be allowed to be imported from 2027. The rules mostly keep the 2018 ban in place, but also spell out how smartphones specifically are to be treated in more detail. Refurbished devices and used parts will stay prohibited, but “qualifying” equipment for chip manufacturing, packaging and testing is exempt.
Read more: VnExpress
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