Vietnam’s already strong economic outlook received another boost last week after Japanese investment bank Nomura named it the biggest winner from the United States (US) – China trade war, with its economy surging by 7.9 percent as a result of one year’s worth of trade diversions leading up to the first quarter of this year.The standoff has seen gross domestic product (GDP) gains in several other countries, though none of them are anywhere as close to Vietnam’s. Taiwan are the next bi

Hanoi has vowed to crack down on manufacturers illegally using "Made in Vietnam" labels on items destined for America to dodge punishing tariffs as the US-China trade spat drags on.Exporters have started shifting production from China to Vietnam to avoid 25 percent levies imposed by US President Donald Trump on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. But Hanoi said some manufacturers are illegally claiming their goods - including textiles, seafood and agricultural products - a

Pressures from population growth and an economic boom have increased demand for water in Vietnam, risking depletion of the valuable resource and threatening the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by up to six percent by 2035 – a year’s worth of GDP growth.About 8.5 million urban citizens in Vietnam lack access to clean water, and in rural areas, about 41 million dwellers do not have clean water supply.

The mounting plastic crisis is being met with the reactive waves of worldwide bans on single-use plastic bags and straws in many countries especially at supermarkets and food establishments. Every year there are eight million tons of plastic dumped into the ocean, with straws making up four percent of plastic trash.

In the first quarter of 2018, Southeast Asia saw a 9.4 percent increase in tourist arrivals, which is the largest number recorded amongst all regions at the time. This figure exceeds the already robust six percent average growth for global tourism during the same period.Within the Southeast Asian region, Thailand recorded the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2017 at 35 million.

While Vietnam’s economy is expected to become bigger than Singapore’s in the next decade based on both countries’ current rate of growth, there are several challenges that lie ahead for ASEAN’s rising star.In a report published by Singapore-based DBS Bank on Tuesday, senior economist Irvin Seah predicted that Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) will surpass that of Singapore’s by 2029 if Vietnam maintains its annual growth rate of about six to 6.5 percent and Singapore continues to grow at

Few things are more anathema to communism than a superyacht, except perhaps taking a ride to the marina in a Bentley.In Nha Trang on Vietnam’s east coast, motorbikes still outnumber luxury cars but there are signs of flourishing wealth everywhere.The half-hour drive along the road to the country’s first deep water marina is filled with glimpses of plush resorts, some complete and others in various stages of development.

Vietnam may be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, yet it’s still in the dark ages when it comes to joining the global trend toward cashless transactions. To understand why, look no further than to consumers like Tran Van Nhan, who recently bought his two-bedroom home in Hanoi with gold and a sack of cash.“We paid almost half in gold bars and the rest in cash,” Nhan, a 47-year-old shopkeeper, said of his new US$138,000 condo.

In the Southeast Asian region, loss of area under natural forests is largely driven by natural resources extraction and demand for more land for production of food and other commodities. Earlier in 2018, progress tracking of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals for Southeast Asia revealed disappointing outcomes for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.