A group of investors led by the American fund KKR paid 650 million dollars for a stake in the real estate arm of the largest Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup. KKR representatives stated that they, together with other investors, including the Singapore Temasek state investment fund, have acquired 6% of Vinhomes, Vingroup's real estate division. Vietnam thus confirms itself as one of the major beneficiaries of the diversification that many companies are pursuing in this uncertain environment.

Indonesia has long been considered the de facto leader of ASEAN, however, the current Covid-19 pandemic has revealed new regional balances. Vietnam has grown a lot and emerged as an influential leader after having effectively managed the pandemic

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation plans to build a second automobile production plant in the Binh Dinh province. The plant would complete the investment already made in Vietnam by the Japanese company, which relies on the local economy competitiveness for the production of some cars and components

The Vietnamese Legislative Assembly ratified the Free Trade Agreement with the EU, the last step in the approval process after the votes of the European Parliament and the Council. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement could increase trade between EU countries and Vietnam by 23 billion by 2035, according to Confindustria's calculations.

The demand for electricity in Vietnam has increased significantly and the energy industry has grown rapidly over the last decade, a characteristics shared by many countries in Asia. The Diplomat Hanoi exhort to focus on renewable energy to meet the growing demand for energy, increase investments and tackle the problem of pollution

Only a few days after the end of the lockdown, FPT, a leading group in the Vietnamese technology industry, began the construction of the country's largest data center in Ho Chi Minh City. The company is confident that these investments will support Vietnam's economic development, directly proportional to the increasing demand for data.

In January 2021 four new faces will emerge from the thirteenth five-year Communist Party congress as those who will govern the 96 million inhabitants country. Although there have been exceptions over the last years, next year Vietnam's leadership will almost certainly return to be hold by four State offices.

The National Assembly of Vietnam is scheduled to hold its long-awaited final vote on the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union on Thursday. The agreement will be able to contribute to the economic recovery in the post-emergency period, as well as pushing the country towards significant reforms in terms of labour and the environment.

Also the Vietnamese car sector has suffered the heavy consequences of the pandemic. Furthermore, many companies in the country are in great difficulty due to unfavourable tax policies. It is therefore necessary for the Vietnamese government to think about more flexible policies to support its automotive industry at this delicate time.

During the trade war between Washington and Beijing, Vietnam managed to attract important trade flows into the country through its competitiveness. According to several experts, Vietnam has in fact been one of the major beneficiaries of the transformations initiated by the trade war. However, an interesting article by Asiatimes claims that Vietnam's growth won't be able to replace the "Made in China" brand, mainly because of the large Chinese population and the greater resources available to Beijing

Panasonic is shutting down a domestic appliance factory near Bangkok to consolidate production in a larger plant in Vietnam. During the trade war between Washington and Beijing, many companies had initially moved production from China to Thailand. Now they seem interested in moving to even more competitive countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Vietnamese government aims to achieve a double-digit annual growth in e-commerce sales up to $35 billion by 2025. According to the sector development strategy presented by the Vietnamese government, more than half of Vietnam's population of 95 million people will shop online within the next five years.

Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority stated that the country won't consider new requests from foreign airlines in order to prioritize the recovery of the domestic aviation sector following the heavy impact of the coronavirus crisis

In an attempt to support businesses struggling to recover from the severe economic impact of the pandemic, the Vietnamese Central Bank has cut interest rates for the second time in two months. The authorities seem determined to make the country able to restart, with the aim of registering significant growth in spite of the crisis

During a major online meeting with national and international companies, the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced Vietnam aims for a full recovery at a targeted 5% growth, despite the International Monetary Fund forecasts are predicting a 2,7% growth in 2020. The Vietnamese government hopes to achieve the higher result by means of attracting new investors.

The Vietnamese authorities are considering relying on international arbitration to solve the dispute with Beijing on the South China Sea. According to analysts, Vietnam could act similarly to the Philippines, which won a case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016.

The antagonism between Vietnam and China for the control of some areas in the South China Sea over the last years has been pushing Hanoi to get closer from a diplomatic and military point of view to the United States, which is increasingly relying on Vietnam for China's military containment.

After having benefited from the consequences of the US-China trade war, Vietnam has now effectively managed the virus and is preparing to restart its economy and growth. An interesting editorial by Nikkei Asian Review highlights Vietnam's momentum in the light of recent changes

The Vietnamese government urged national companies to produce lung ventilators to strengthen the country's defence capabilities against COVID-19 and other infectious respiratory diseases. Local companies, led by Vingroup, the largest conglomerate in the country, accepted the request and made themselves available to carry out research and produce medical equipment.