Vietnam Economic News: 12.4 – 19.4.2025
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 12.4 - 19.4.2025
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 12.4 - 19.4.2025 ---
China plan maker COMAC start commercial operation in Vietnam
Reuters News – 19 April 2025
Two Chinese-made COMAC aircraft, branded as C909, started flying routes in Vietnam on Saturday, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the Chinese plane maker said. The planes were leased by China's Chengdu Airlines to Vietnamese budget airline VietJet, and the route opening marks the start of COMAC's commercial operation in Vietnam, it said in a statement. The airline operates flights between the capital Hanoi and Con Dao Island off southern Vietnam, as well as between business hub Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao.
Vietnam’s Vietjet owes investment fund over $180 million, UK Court rules
Reuters News – 17 April 2025
Vietnamese budget airline VietJet owes a leasing firm just over $180 million in a dispute over four planes, London's High Court ruled on Thursday. FW Aviation, part of London-based investment firm FitzWalter Capital, sued VietJet in 2022 over four Airbus A321 passenger jets, which were previously grounded in Vietnam. The company had argued that VietJet was liable under the planes' leases, which were terminated for non-payment of rent after air travel was curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic. VietJet's lawyers said that FW Aviation had recovered possession of the four planes and argued that making the airline return the planes and pay would amount to a "double penalty". But the High Court ruled that VietJet owed FW Aviation $181.8 million, the latest ruling in a dispute which has been playing out in courts in London, Hanoi and Singapore. VietJet was last year granted permission to appeal against an earlier High Court ruling that it was liable to FW Aviation, which will be heard next month. A VietJet spokesperson said in a statement: "The airline has consistently fulfilled its financial obligations to dozens of banks and aircraft lessors supporting its fleet of hundreds of aircraft. "The dispute concerning four aircraft is isolated and exceptional." In a further statement on Friday, VietJet said that in addition to its ongoing core appeal, it had requested a stay of execution, and that no immediate payment was required.
Vietnam add nuclear to $136 billion plan to boost power capacity
Reuters News – 17 April 2025
Coal-reliant Vietnam aims to significantly ramp up its power generation capacity by 2030, focussing on renewable energy and adding nuclear power to the mix, according to the country's newly amended national power plan. To meet the targets, Vietnam would need a total investment of $136.3 billion by 2030, the government said, equivalent to more than a quarter of its 2024 gross domestic product. The country industrial hub needs to fast expand power supply as electricity demand grows, to avoid shortages that recently spooked foreign investors. It also wants to cut its use of coal, which remains its main source of energy. Under the adopted blueprint, Vietnam wants to raise its total installed capacity to a range of 183 to 236 gigawatts by 2030, up from more than 80 GW at the end of 2023, the government said late on Wednesday. To do so, it is renewing a bet on nuclear power, after it suspended its programme in 2016 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and amid budget constraints. The first nuclear power plants would be online between 2030 and 2035, with combined capacity of up to 6.4 GW, the government said, adding that another 8 GW would be added to the mix by mid-century. Officials have said Vietnam has discussed small modular reactors, which the International Atomic Energy Agency says are still under development but would be more affordable to build than large power reactors. The government said earlier this year it would hold talks with foreign partners about nuclear power projects, including those from Russia, Japan, South Korea, France and the United States. On Tuesday, Korea Electric Power Corp expressed interest in Vietnam's nuclear projects, as the company's chief visited the country. Vietnam is prioritising Russian and Japanese contractors but remains open to others that offer good technology and competitive prices. Under the new plan, solar power would account for 25.3%-31.1% of total capacity by 2030, up from 23.8% in 2020, while onshore and nearshore wind energy would go up to 14.2%-16.1% from nearly zero at the start of the decade, the government said.
Cut shifts or ramp up output? Vietnam’s exporters face dilemma amid tariff chaos
Reuters News – 17 April 2025
Some factory workers in Vietnam have been told to increase output of products for the U.S. market, while others have had their shifts cut to three per week as U.S. orders were postponed or cancelled, industry executives said. The radically diverging strategies, largely the result of shifting U.S. orders, show the chaotic reaction of exporters in Vietnam’s industrial hub, which was slapped by the Trump administration with 46% tariffs before most duties were paused until July. "Factories change their production plan and human operations too, dividing work shifts to MonWed-Fri and Tue-Thu-Sat instead of working full time, as huge orders are on hold," said Calvin Nguyen, the head of Vietnamese logistics firm WeDo Forwarding. He cited three companies producing garments, shoes and agricultural goods that changed their work plans because orders were postponed even after U.S. President Donald Trump paused "reciprocal" tariffs on April 9. Two business surveys and another three industry sources confirmed cost-cutting measures by companies in Vietnam and foreign firms' pausing of investments. Vietnam is a major exporter of footwear and apparel to the United States - manufactured by dozens of suppliers to large multinationals, such as Nike, Adidas and Gap. A survey of 183 European businesses in Vietnam conducted by the European chamber of commerce from April 4-9 found most were considering cuts in response to tariffs, including workforce reduction and downsizing operations.