Vietnam Economic News: 16.8 – 23.8.2025
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 16.8 - 23.8.2025
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 16.8 - 23.8.2025 ---
VPBANK CONFIRMS PLANS TO LIST SECURITIES UNIT
Dow Jones Newswires – 19 August 2025
Vietnam Prosperity JS Commercial Bank confirmed it is planning an initial public offering for its securities unit. Shares of the bank, also known as VPBank, rose 6.9% on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on Tuesday following media reports of the IPO plan. A company spokesperson said in a statement that VPBank Securities is seeking shareholders' opinions on the proposed IPO, with more information to be disclosed in the near future. The offering aims to provide greater transparency and enhance shareholder value, the spokesperson said. "We believe the robust stock market provides a favorable opportunity to realize this plan," the spokesperson added. VPBank is backed by Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Vietnam's benchmark Index has surged around 29% so far this year, making it one of the region's best performers.
VIETNAM CONSIDERS RULE CHANGE ALLOWING LOSS-MAKING EVN TO RAISE POWER PRICES
Reuters News – 18 August 2025
Vietnam is planning to tweak its regulations to allow state utility EVN to adjust retail electricity prices to cover its losses, which stood at nearly $1.5 billion at the end of last year. The rule changes are aimed at "easing difficulties for EVN and ensuring national energy security", the government said in a statement late on Sunday. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is now seeking opinions on the proposed reform, it added. EVN, the country's key power generator and sole grid operator, reported accumulated losses of 38.68 trillion dong ($1.47 billion) by the end of 2024, despite making a modest profit during the year. It said the company incurred the losses as a result of geopolitical uncertainties and rising fuel costs. The central bank governor Nguyen Thi Hong warned of inflationary risks earlier this month, noting that adjustments to the prices of electricity, medical services and housing had piled more pressure on input costs, driving up core inflation in recent months. EVN last raised its average retail electricity price by 4.8% in May. The average price has increased by 17% since 2023. ($1 = 26,280 dong)
SOUTH KOREA, VIETNAM LEADERS PLEDGE CLOSER TIES AS US TARIFFS SHAKE UP TRADE
Reuters News – 16 August 2025
South Korea and Vietnam's leaders pledged to deepen economic cooperation as their export-dependent countries try to shore up longstanding supply chains as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs shake up global trade. There was no public discussion of the levies - 15% on South Korean products going to the U.S. and 20% for Vietnamese goods - as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted Vietnam's To Lam as his first state guest since taking office in June. But Trump's tariffs on products from Asian countries have increased uncertainty over future business commitments, with Vietnamese official data showing a slowdown in new investment. Lam, the Vietnamese Communist Party general secretary, said they agreed to expand trade with each other to $150 billion by 2030 - from about $86.8 billion in 2024 - and that Vietnam welcomed an increase in investment by South Korean businesses. "Our countries agreed that about 10,000 Korean companies operating in Vietnam contribute to Vietnam's economic development and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries," Lee said in a televised address. "I asked for a continued interest in the stable economic activities of our companies in Vietnam," Lam added. Lam led a delegation of industry, trade, foreign and technology ministers and senior party and parliament members on the four-day state visit. The countries signed 10 memoranda of understanding, pledging cooperation in areas including nuclear and renewable energy, monetary and financial policies, and science and technology, Lee's office said. Other agreements covered cooperation in infrastructure, including high-speed rail, Lee's office said.
VIETNAM RAISES $119 MLN IN GOVT BOND AUCTION, LOWEST SINCE JUL 9
Reuters News – 20 August 2025
Vietnam's State Treasury raised 3.13 trillion dong ($119 million) in a weekly government bond auction on Wednesday, the lowest since July 9 and down from the $134.5 million raised last week, with coupons hitting their highest levels of the year. The uptake was also lower, with 26% of the bonds on offer sold, compared with 29% at last week's auction, according to a Hanoi Stock Exchange filing.
VIETNAM AIMS TO SEE 30 SOES WITH BILLION-DOLLAR REVENUE BY 2030
Vietnam News – 22 August 2025
Vietnam aims to see at least 30 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) with net revenue exceeding US$1 billion each by 2030, according to a finance ministry strategy on developing the State economic sector. The goal is stated in a political report from the Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) submitted to the MoF’s Party Congress for the 2025-30 term, according to the MoF's news portal. According to the plan, the SOE sector aims to see at least 25 SOEs with equity or capitalisation values exceeding $1 billion, of which 10 SOEs will have equity or capitalisation values exceeding the $5 billion mark in the next 5 years. Vietnam currently has 76 enterprises in the Fortune 500 Southeast Asia list, with some SOEs holding high positions. The report notes that by the end of 2024, the total assets of 671 SOEs reached more than VND5.6 quadrillion (about $215 billion), up 45 per cent compared to 2023. Both revenues and pre-tax profits of the SOEs also showed good growth, with nearly VND3.3 trillion and VND227.5 trillion recorded, respectively. To promote the State economy, the Government is developing a State Economic Development Project to effectively use public resources and contribute to achieving a double-digit growth target. In the 2026-30 period, Vietnam aims to achieve GDP growth of at least 10 per cent per year, an average income of $8,500, public debts of around 45 per cent of GDP and inflation of 4-4.5 per cent. Registered FDI is expected to be $200-300 billion, with a localisation rate of more than 40 per cent by 2030.