Vietnam: more rate cuts, little effect?

May 10, 2013 2:06pm by Nguyen Phuong Linh

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With Vietnam’s economy still struggling and the IMF recently cutting its GDP forecast for this year to 5.2 per cent – anaemic by emerging market standards – the central bank on Friday cut interest rates for the eighth time since 2012.

But economists believe that rate cuts are unlikely to help Vietnam regain its spot as one of Asia’s hottest emerging markets without structural reforms to tackle the bad debts weighing down the banking sector and the wasteful state-owned companies distorting the economy. Continue reading »

Tags: Vietnam economy, Vietnam interest rates Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Coming soon to Poland – Vietnamese banking

May 9, 2013 6:15pm by Jan Cienski

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Monoethnic and monocultural Poland is becoming a more interesting place as it becomes wealthier, with the latest sign of its growing international attraction being the plans of a Vietnamese bank to start operations in Poland.

Vietinbank, the second largest partly private bank in Vietnam, is planning on expanding its foreign network, which currently includes two branches in Germany and one in neighbouring Laos. Continue reading »

Tags: Poland banking, Vietinbank, Vietnam banking Posted in Asia, Europe, Poland, Vietnam | Permalink

Asia PMI scorecard: 3 up, 3 down

May 2, 2013 8:56am by Rob Minto

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First the good news: all six of the Asian purchasing managers’ indices from HSBC/Markit are in positive territory (that is, a score above 50, which separates expansion from contraction).

Now the bad news: three of the six are heading the wrong way. Continue reading »

Tags: manufacturing, PMIs Posted in Asia, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam | Permalink

Vietnam: airlines ill-prepared for regional competition

Apr 2, 2013 8:30am by Jake Maxwell Watts

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Bad debt and bad bankers have dominated most headlines about Vietnam in the last few years. What gets less attention, however, is its promising tourist industry. Unfortunately, getting people to Vietnam’s tourist attractions has nevertheless proved difficult. The country’s airlines are struggling to stay alive, let alone profitable.

Of the five private airlines launched in Vietnam since 2007, only one is still in business. Continue reading »

Tags: airlines, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Asia PMI scorecard: looking good

Apr 1, 2013 11:39am by Rob Minto

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Source: HSBC / Markit

After last month’s rather gloomy reading, March’s HSBC/Markit manufacturing indices for Asia have a far more positive hue.

In fact, all 6 countries with data released on Monday were above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction – and only India saw a fall in the reading. That’s not bad at all. Continue reading »

Tags: manufacturing, PMIs Posted in Asia, Global, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam | Permalink

Vietnam cuts rates but businesses still starved of credit

Mar 25, 2013 1:48pm by beyondbrics

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By Nguyen Phuong Linh and Jake Maxwell Watts

It was almost inevitable that Vietnam’s central bank would cut interest rates for the seventh time in a row on Monday. What is much less certain is whether the move will succeed in boosting the country’s struggling economy, with commercial banks reluctant to pass on lower interest rates to cash-strapped businesses. Continue reading »

Tags: credit, GDP, interest rates Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Vietnam’s bank restructuring: shotgun weddings

Mar 21, 2013 8:35am by beyondbrics

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By Jake Maxwell Watts and Nguyen Phuong Linh

Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, is arguably a better Communist than he is a match-maker, judging by a recent spate of enforced bank mergers. The latest, between Western Bank and PetroVietnam Finance Corp, the finance arm of state-owned oil and gas giant PetroVietnam, was confirmed by the former and denied by the latter. Judging by an announcement on the central bank’s website, it looks likely to go ahead anyway. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, M&A, privatisation Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Asean FDI future brighter than China’s

Mar 15, 2013 12:07pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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Foreign direct investment into the Asean countries has risen strongly in the past few years and is now on a par with FDI into China. As Hak Bin Chua, Asean economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes in a report on Friday, this “is in sharp contrast to a decade ago, when there were widespread fears that Asean would be marginalised by China’s rise.”

The change is partly a result of political issues such as recent territorial tensions between Japan and China which are diverting some Japanese investment south. But is is also driven by social and economic factors such as demographics that will not change direction any time soon. Continue reading »

Tags: Asean, FDI Posted in Asia, Cambodia, China, Global, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Permalink

China: rising wages will drive economic change under new leadership

Mar 7, 2013 12:29pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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Higher wages and rising labour costs lie at the heart of the economic questions facing China’s leaders as they gather this week in Beijing for the National People’s Congress.

For hard-pressed exporters the developments are clearly negative. But for China as a whole they should be positive -with millions of workers earnings more pay and creating a growing consumer market – as long as the transition is managed properly. Continue reading »

Tags: China economy, labour Posted in China, Global, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Permalink

Asian PMIs: more bad than good

Mar 1, 2013 9:50am by Rob Minto

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Time to take the temperature of Asian manufacturing – has the recovery of the last few months been sustained?

Answer: there are a few worrying signs, especially in China and Vietnam. Continue reading »

Tags: PMIs Posted in Asia, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam | Permalink

Guest post: Vietnam’s new focus and discipline should pay off

Feb 8, 2013 8:35am by beyondbrics

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By Dominic Scriven of Dragon Capital

It has been a hard time for investors in Vietnam in recent years. Sky high inflation, lax lending to unproductive sectors – especially state-owned enterprises, a depreciating currency and high levels of non-performing loans have caused foreign investors to think twice about buying into the country.

However, on Sunday the Lunar New Year will be ushered in with spectacular fireworks, wonderful flower markets, family banquets and colourful celebrations. The coming Year of the Snake, the 6th animal in the Chinese zodiac, is commonly associated with focus and discipline. Both will be needed if the government intends to carry on its promise of economic reform. Continue reading »

Tags: equities, guest post, reform, state-owned enterprises, Vietnam economy Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Asean: outsourcing from near and far

Jan 29, 2013 11:28am by Peter Vanham

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The great outsourcing story used to be from Europe to India (IT) and China (manufacturing). But now southeast Asian countries are the preferred destination, and not just for western companies. India and China are outsourcing to their Asean neighbours too.

That’s according to Adecco, the world’s largest provider of HR services, which says its clients increasingly want to hire in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Continue reading »

Tags: Adecco, Asean, outsourcing Posted in Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam | Permalink

Guest post: China and Asean – it cuts both ways

Jan 24, 2013 9:01am by beyondbrics

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By Leif Eskesen of HSBC Global Research

China’s spectacular economic rise has had profound implications for the global economy and brought significant benefits to neighbouring countries, including the Asean-5: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. However, China has also gained from their economic climb. These two-way benefits have come from surging trade, investment and tourism flows in both directions. Continue reading »

Tags: Asean, FDI, investment, tourism, trade Posted in Asia, China, Global, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | Permalink

Vietnam: banker’s arrest puts Agribank in the spotlight

Jan 24, 2013 7:30am by Jake Maxwell Watts

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Source: Agribank

By Jake Maxwell Watts and Nguyen Phuong Linh

Just when Vietnam’s weary investors were breathing a little easier amid improved economic data and an unexpected upturn in its stock markets, a long-simmering bank scandal burst back into the open with the arrest of another high-profile banker. Vietnam’s minister of public security announced on Wednesday that Pham Thanh Tan (pictured left), ex-chief of the state-owned Agribank, had been arrested for “irresponsibly causing serious consequences.” Continue reading »

Tags: Agribank, banking, state-owned enterprises Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

Vietnam’s economic woes: where to from here?

Jan 10, 2013 9:00am by beyondbrics

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By Jake Maxwell Watts and Nguyen Phuong Linh

In both the developing and industrialised worlds, economic growth rates, like bad news, can be entirely relative. Vietnam’s respectable-sounding GDP growth of 5.08 per cent in 2012 was in fact a painful fall from 5.9 per cent in 2011 and marked its slowest pace in 13 years. Will 2013 be any better? Continue reading »

Tags: corruption, Vietnam economy, Vinashin Posted in Asia, Vietnam | Permalink

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