Vietnam Economic News: 29.11 - 6.12.2025
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 29.11 - 6.12.2025
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 29.11 - 6.12.2025 ---
VIETNAM'S TRADE SURPLUS WITH US HITS RECORD AS EXPORTS SURGE DESPITE TARIFFS
Reuters News – 6 December 2025
Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States, its main market, rose to $121.6 billion in the first 11 months of the year, official data showed on Saturday, as exports surged despite U.S. import tariffs imposed in August on Vietnamese goods. The country is still in talks on a trade deal with Washington but has so far largely shrugged off U.S. duties of 20% imposed on its goods by the Trump administration to cut Vietnam's huge trade advantage. Exports to the United States rose year-on-year by 22.5% in November, outpacing shipments to the rest of the world, which increased by 15.1%, according to Vietnam's statistics agency. The surge in exports to the U.S. translated into a record trade surplus, which in the January-November period already far exceeds the reading for all of 2024, when it hit $104.5 billion. Vietnam said last month it was working to sign a trade agreement with the U.S. soon, after the two countries in October said they had agreed to a framework for the deal. For the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam recorded a total trade surplus of $20.53 billion - mostly on a positive balance with the United States, the European Union and Japan - which more than offset deficits with China and South Korea. The trade deficit with China in the January-November period rose 38.1% year-on-year to $104.3 billion. Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang on Saturday said foreign investment inflows in the January-November period rose 8.9% from a year earlier to $23.6 billion, while pledges were up 7.4%. However, he noted the country was facing increasing economic challenges, including from U.S. tariffs and the impact of widespread flooding in recent months. Separately, consumer prices in November rose 3.58% from a year earlier, data from the statistics agency showed, while industrial production climbed 10.8%.
FOXCONN, LUXSHARE PLAN TO ADD MILLIONS TO VIETNAM'S GAME CONSOLE OUTPUT
Reuters News – 3 December 2025
Foxconn and Luxshare plan to add millions of gaming devices to Vietnam's annual output, reinforcing the country's role in the global supply of game consoles. Vietnam assembles a variety of electronic products destined for foreign markets, including smartphones, computers and tablets. Information on its production of consoles is not public, but EV Foxconn, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer, has capacity to produce up to 4 million gaming devices in a factory in Northern Vietnam. Fushan Technology, another Foxconn subsidiary, is seeking a permit to expand production in Vietnam to make annually up to 4.8 million MicrosoftXbox gaming devices, parts of the consoles and other unspecified electromagnetic devices, according to a company document sent to the environment department of the northern Bac Ninh province, where the company has a production hub. Separately, China's Luxshare-ICT is planning to produce up to 4.5 million game consoles a year at a factory in Vietnam, starting from next year, the company said in a proposal to Bac Ninh authorities, without indicating the brand of the devices. Vietnam's growing electronics footprint underscores its strategic role as manufacturers diversify beyond China amid global supply chain shifts
UNIONPAY INTERNATIONAL PILOT LAUNCHES CROSS-BORDER QR PAYMENT PROGRAM BETWEEN CHINA AND VIETNAM
Dow Jones Newswires German – 2 December 2025
In December 2025, UnionPay International (UPI) and the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) officially launched a pilot program for cross-border QR payments connecting China and Vietnam. This program aims to further enhance the mobile payment experience for Chinese tourists in Vietnam and foster closer economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between the two countries. In October 2024, UPI and NAPAS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cross-border payment cooperation witnessed by the leaders of both countries. In April 2025, UPI, NAPAS, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank, VCB) signed a four-party cooperation agreement in Hanoi, confirming their joint commitment to advancing the ChinaVietnam QR Code payment interconnection within the year. The launch of this pilot program marks a significant milestone in enhancing cross-border payment connectivity between the two sides. After the pilot program is launched, Chinese tourists will be able to make payments at major shopping districts, tourist attractions, and dining and retail merchants in Vietnam by scanning merchants' VietQR Global QR codes using the UnionPay App and UnionPay-partner Bank Apps, enjoying a seamless and cash-free experience — just like they do in China. According to the merchant acquisition plans submitted by participating institutions to NAPAS, over 30,000 merchants are expected to be enabled for QR code payments by the end of 2025. In 2026, NAPAS plans to further expand participation to all the member institutions including banks, payment institutions and major local e-wallets thereby broadening the acceptance coverage. In the future, UPI and NAPAS will also enable Vietnamese users to scan UnionPay QR codes in China using NAPAS member bank apps, achieving two-way connectivity and offering residents and travellers from both countries a more seamless cross-border payment experience.