Insights

Chairman's Insights The ASEAN Economic Community

ASEAN was in itself a US$ 2.4 trillion economy in 2015 making it the 5th largest in the world. The Asian Economic Community (“AEC”) came into being at the end of 2015/start of 2016 but seems to have been overshadowed by all the talk of TPP and EU Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

20 Feb 2017

Chairman's Insights The impact of the demise of the Trans Pacific Partnership

With the likely demise of the Trans Pacific Partnership (“TPP”), following g the withdrawal by the USA, the big question is how will this impact Vietnam and what it means for the bi-lateral Vietnam –USA relationship. Whether or not Vietnam will lose its attraction in terms of FDI, is not in my opinion directly related to TPP, although we did see some US investment on the back of the expected TPP, but more to do with how foreign investors perceive the investment environment in Vietnam and the ease of doing business.

07 Feb 2017

Chairman's Insights Mergers and Acquisitions continue to be buoyant

Mergers and Acquisitions continue to be buoyant Vietnam continues to see foreign interest in the M & A market, with significant interest and completed deals in 2016, from Thai firms, in particular. Of the US$24.4 billion committed last year in Foreign Direct Investment US$ 3.4 billion was from M & A, according to the General Statistics Office.

23 Jan 2017

Chairman's insights The income disconnect

If you live in Vietnam or visit the country, particularly the major cities, have you ever wondered about the apparent level of disposable income relative to the reported average per capita income of US$ 2,200 per annum or less than US$ 200 per month. The average figures for Hanoi and HCMC are over US$ 5,000 per annum. Overseas remittances to Vietnam are running at a level of US$ 12-13 billion per annum or about 80-90% of the remitted foreign direct investment. This is also equivalent to more than 7% of GDP.

16 Jan 2017