Vietnam Economic News: 7.12 – 14.12.2024
Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 7.12 - 14.12.2024
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Summary of Vietnam Economic News: 7.12 - 14.12.2024 ---
SINGAPORE, VIETNAM FIRMS IN TALKS FOR NEW UNDERSEA CABLES
Reuters News – 13 December 2024
Singaporean asset manager Keppel and Vietnamese conglomerate Sovico Group are discussing plans for new undersea fiber-optic cables that would boost the region's data centre industry, people familiar with the discussions said. The two countries, a major junction for cables connecting Asia to Europe, are seeking to expand their networks to meet booming demand for AI services and data centres. Vietnam alone plans to have 10 new submarine cables by 2030.
Undersea cables are at the centre of the Sino-American tech war, with the two powers vying to win contracts, especially in Asia, to build and maintain the strategic infrastructure that carries most internet data, including sensitive information. According to a plan which is still under discussion, a cable would be laid to link Vietnam directly with Singapore and would cost $150 million. This option is favoured by Sovico, but talks with Keppel on the direct cable are in flux and no agreement has been reached yet. Keppel prefers a more ambitious cable plan involving a consortium of investors. Under that second plan, the connection to Vietnam developed by Sovico would be an offshoot of a longer cable, three people said, with one noting it would run from Singapore to Japan with links to countries along the route.
VIETNAM RAISES $68.6 MLN IN GOVERNMENT BOND AUCTION, LOWEST VOLUME IN 6 MONTHS
Reuters News – 11 December 2024
Vietnam's State Treasury raised 1.74 trillion dong ($68.6 million) in a government bond auction on Wednesday, the lowest volume since end-May and down from the $110 million raised last week. The uptake was also lower, a filing to the Hanoi Stock Exchange showed, with 19.3% of the offer sold compared with 31.1% at last week's auction. The auction took total government bond sales to 323 trillion dong this year, according to data from the exchange, which is 80.8% of the government's full-year target of 400 trillion dong. Vietnam uses the proceeds from bond sales mainly to fund its public investments, among the key drivers of economic growth. At Wednesday's auction, the treasury sold 500 billion out of the 2 trillion dong of 5-year bonds offered, at a coupon of 2.00%, the highest coupon on the 5-year bonds recorded this year. The treasury sold 1.2 trillion out of 4.5 trillion dong of 10-year bonds available with a coupon of 2.73%. It sold only 40 billion out of 1.5 trillion dong of 30-year bonds with a coupon of 3.18%, but failed to offload any of the 1 trillion of 15-year bonds offered. On the corporate front, Vietnamese companies have raised 389.4 trillion dong from bond sales this year up to Dec. 6, according to bond market association data. The value of corporate bonds maturing in the remainder of 2024 is 32.2 trillion dong, 40.9% of which belongs to the real estate sector and 12.9% to the banking sector, it added.
V-GREEN AND PRIME GROUP SIGN MOU TO DEVELOP 100,000 VINFAST EV CHARGING STATIONS IN INDONESIA
Dow Jones Newswires German – 11 December 2024
V-GREEN and Prime Group, a diversified conglomerate, through its UAE subsidiary, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a network of charging stations for VinFast electric vehicles in Indonesia. This MoU does not only signify a major step forward for V-GREEN in its global mission to expand the VinFast EV charging infrastructure, but also underscores the confidence of prominent international companies in V-GREEN and VinFast's commitment to sustainable transportation. The two companies envision the development of approximately 100,000 VinFast charging stations in Indonesia over the next three years, with a projected total investment of up to 1.2 billion USD. V-GREEN will initially prioritize the development of VinFast charging stations in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, and surrounding areas, with plans to expand to other regions of Indonesia in subsequent phases.
SOUTHEAST ASIA ON TRACK FOR STRONGER ECONOMIC GROWTH THIS YEAR
Dow Jones Institutional News – 11 December 2024
Southeast Asia's economic outlook for 2024 has improved, says ADB, which has raised its growth forecast for the region to 4.7% from 4.5%. Growth has accelerated in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, driven by domestic demand, lower inflation and sustained public investment, the ADB notes. Inflationary pressures have continued to ease across Southeast Asia as global food and oil prices trend downward, it ways. The ADB lowers its inflation forecast for the region to 3.0% from 3.3%. Following the Fed's rate cut in September, cooling inflation has created room for monetary easing in most economies. However, geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and severe weather events remain risks to growth, particularly in agriculture and infrastructure, it says.