Vietnam Industry and Trade News Bulletin for OCTOBER 23, 2018

I. Notable News and Legal Issues

1. APEC Card Fraud: Authorities are investigating a scam where individuals, including one posing as a Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) official, collected money from victims by promising to facilitate APEC cards for travel,.

2. Gasoline Theft Investigation: MoIT issued an urgent order for Petrolimex to investigate and handle reports of truck drivers stealing gasoline on the Hai Van Pass,. As a result, several drivers have been suspended,.

II. Macroeconomics and the National Assembly

1. Profit500 Rankings: The 2018 list of the most profitable enterprises in Vietnam shows a dominance of the real estate, construction, electricity, and finance sectors,.

2. Price Management Reform: Experts suggest moving away from administrative commands in price management, noting that rigid stabilization efforts often fail to align with market supply and demand,.

3. National Assembly 6th Session: Delegates discussed sustainable development and expressed concerns regarding public investment allocation and revenue shortfalls in the State-owned and FDI sectors,.

4. Confidence Votes: The National Assembly conducted confidence votes for 48 high-ranking positions using three levels: High Confidence, Confidence, and Low Confidence,.

III. Energy and Petroleum Sector

1. Oil Price Impact: While global oil prices (WTI and Brent) showed a slight decrease recently, the overall upward trend since the beginning of the year has pressured the profit margins of many domestic enterprises,,,.

2. Declining Oil Output: The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) predicts that oil output will decline by 10% annually (over 2 million tons) until 2025 due to aging wells and low new reserves,.

3. Renewable Energy Investment: EVNCPC is investing 1,372 billion VND in a 50MW solar power plant in Khanh Hoa to encourage clean energy development,.

4. Electricity Access: In Southern Vietnam, the electricity coverage rate has reached 99.62% of households,.

IV. Industrial Development and Manufacturing Shifts

1. US-China Trade War Shifts: Vietnam is becoming an attractive alternative for manufacturers; for instance, Brooks Running (the “King of running shoes”) is considering moving production from China to Vietnam.

2. Sector Opportunities: Experts highlight that Vietnamese suitcases, bags, and wooden furniture have significant opportunities to replace Chinese goods in the US market,.

3. Paper Industry Challenges: Despite contributing 1.5% to the GDP, the paper industry is struggling with a severe shortage of raw materials.

4. Vinacomin Divestment: Vinacomin plans to collect approximately 286 billion VND from auctioning shares in two of its subsidiaries,,.

V. Import-Export and Global Integration

1. Export Growth to the US: In the first nine months of 2018, exports to the US reached $35.02 billion (up 13.2%), accounting for nearly 20% of Vietnam’s total export value,,.

2. Trade Defense Risks: Following EU anti-dumping duties on Chinese tires, Vietnamese tire exports surged, leading to warnings of potential trade defense investigations against Vietnam,.

3. Origin Fraud Warnings: There are serious concerns about “transshipment” risks, where Chinese agricultural products are labeled as “Made in Vietnam” to evade US taxes,,.

4. FTA Utilization: Although Vietnam has participated in 16 FTAs, the utilization rate of these preferences remains low at only 40%,.

5. CPTPP Progress: MoIT is preparing a report for the National Assembly regarding the ratification of the CPTPP agreement,.

VI. Domestic Market and Consumer Protection

1. Agricultural Prices: Pork prices have begun to decrease after record highs. Meanwhile, coffee prices fell while pepper prices showed signs of recovery,.

2. Retail Trends: Multi-channel commerce is identified as a necessary trend for modern retail to stay competitive.

3. Regional Competition: There are concerns that Vietnamese goods may lose ground in the ASEAN market to products from Thailand, Japan, and South Korea if they do not improve quality and design,.

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Analogy: The Vietnamese economy in late 2018 is like a surfer on a powerful but unpredictable wave; the US-China trade war provides a significant lift in export opportunities, but the surfer must maintain perfect balance to avoid being wiped out by the “undertow” of trade defense lawsuits and origin-labeling fraud.