Vietnam Economic News: 9.11 – 16.11.2024
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 9.11 - 16.11.2024
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 9.11 - 16.11.2024 ---
VIETNAM AIRLINES TO REQUEST BIDS FOR 50 NARROWBODY JETS NEXT YEAR
Reuters News – 13 November 2024
Vietnam Airlines will issue requests for proposals to aircraft manufacturers next year to purchase 50 narrowbody jets, its CEO said on Wednesday. The carrier last year signed a provisional deal with Boeing for 50 737 MAX planes that has yet to be finalised. "In Vietnam we have to go through the bidding process, we have to open to others. The door is still open for everyone," Vietnam Airlines CEO Le Hong Ha told Reuters on the sidelines of an Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines event in Brunei. "Boeing is one option, they have a very good offer for us." Airbus and Boeing are the main global manufacturers of single-aisle aircraft, with Airbus' A320neo family competing against the 737 MAX, though Chinese plane maker COMAC is trying to make inroads with its C919. Vietnam Airlines' current narrowbody fleet consists of only Airbus planes, its website showed. The airline needs 170 new aircraft by 2035, its CEO said. The requests for proposals leave open a possibility for COMAC to offer the C919. China has increasingly been marketing its planes to Vietnam. Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met a senior COMAC official last week in China who said the Vietnamese market had strong potential, Vietnam's state news agency reported.
VIETNAM PARLIAMENT SETS 6.5%-7% GDP GROWTH TARGET FOR 2025
Reuters News – 12 November 2024
Vietnam's parliament on Tuesday set a 6.5% to 7.0% economic growth target for next year, above this year's 6.0% to 6.5% target. It also approved the goal to keep inflation at 4.5% in 2025. The country approves economic targets annually, similarly to China. In addition to setting the target, the Parliament said in a statement that the country would strive to reach above-target growth of 7.0% to 7.5% next year.
VIETNAM EXPANDS CHIP PACKAGING FOOTPRINT AS INVESTORS REDUCE CHINA LINKS
Reuters News – 12 November 2024
Foreign companies are expanding capacity in Vietnam for testing and packaging chips while domestic firms are eyeing investments, as a shifting of industrial activity away from China gathers pace due to trade tensions with the West, executives said. The semiconductor back-end manufacturing sector, which is less capital-intensive than more strategic front-end chipmaking in foundries, is currently dominated by China and Taiwan, but Vietnam is among the fastest-growing countries in the $95 billion segment. Hana Micron's vice president for Vietnam, Cho Hyung Rae, said that the company was expanding in the country to meet requests from industrial clients who wanted to have some production capacity moved away from China. The South Korean company is investing about 1.3 trillion won ($930.49 million) until 2026 to boost packaging operations for legacy memory chips. U.S.-headquartered Amkor Technology announced last year a $1.6 billion plan to build a 200,000 square metre (2.2 million sq. ft) factory in Vietnam which it said would become its most extensive and advanced facility, "delivering nextgeneration semiconductor packaging capabilities." Some of the equipment installed in the new plant had been transferred from factories in China. Intel, which had a large booth last week at Vietnam's first international semiconductors exhibition near Hanoi, has in the country its largest chips back-end factory in its global network.
VIETNAM PARTY LEADER AND TRUMP DISCUSSED ECONOMIC TIES
Reuters News – 12 November 2024
Vietnam's Communist Party head To Lam has congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. presidential election victory in a phone call and the two discussed ways their countries could boost economic ties, the communist party said on Tuesday. The United States is Vietnam's largest export market, and in September last year the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level in Vietnam's ranking. "Vietnam is ready to promote stable and long-term development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the people of the two countries," Lam said during the call, which took place on Monday, according to a statement posted on the communist party's website. The statement said Trump expressed his respect for the relationship with Vietnam and Vietnam-U.S. economic cooperation, and wanted to further promote it. Last week, officials and supply chain experts told Reuters Vietnam could face trade volatility with a new Trump presidency, as it could benefit from increased U.S.-China trade tensions but may also become "collateral damage" of protectionist measures. Both leaders invited the other to visit their country, according to the party statement. Trump travelled to Vietnam twice in his first term as president, first to attend an APEC summit and then for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
VIETNAM CENTRAL BANK READY TO SELL U.S. DLRS TO KEEP EXCHANGE RATE STABLE
Reuters News – 11 November 2024
Vietnam's central bank is ready to sell U.S. dollars to the market to keep the exchange rate stable, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said on Monday. "The exchange rate market has been volatile after the Fed's rate cuts," Hong told the parliament in Hanoi, adding that market management is a challenging task. Hong said the central bank will prioritise stability and inflation control, but will have measures to support the government's goal of lifting the pace of economic growth. "We are ramping up packages of preferential loans for projects to develop homes for low-income earners and for the aquatic industry," Hong said. Economic growth has largely been reliant on strong credit growth, but Hong said total outstanding loans are "already high", equivalent to 120% of GDP. "It's risky to continue relying on easing measures," Hong said. She said there is a need to encourage firms to raise funds via the corporate bond and stock markets.