I was going to write about selling alcohol this week, but over the weekend broke news that the Trump administration in the US has initiated a currency manipulation investigation against Vietnam, see article here. While this isn't something about which to worry terribly much in the hands of a country determined to abide by its [...]
Last week I wrote about the freedom of contract in Vietnam, here, and only briefly touched on an important international convention which Vietnam acceded to a few years ago. The Vienna Convention for the International Sale of Goods, or CISG for short, is an important set of rules for anyone buying goods from Vietnamese producers, [...]
A recent Linkedin post alerted me to a crackdown on foreign land ownership. It linked to an article in the local press about Chinese investors buying land in Da Nang through "various ruses." As I read the article I came to realize that the Linkedin poster hadn't really read into the article that much, or [...]
While Vietnam is coming out of the Covid-19 epidemic, force majeure in Vietnam and elsewhere remains a major issue for investors both domestic and international. Cross-border flows of goods and people remain restricted, but internally, Vietnam is resuming business as usual to the extent possible. As the world locked down over the last few months, [...]
This week the European Union took the final step in its procedure for approving the EVFTA/EVIPA trade deals with Vietnam. All that is left is for Vietnam's National Assembly to give its opinion on the matter and the deal will, officially and finally, be sealed. The EVFTA and EVIPA are the fruit of over eight [...]
Recently we prepared a special alert concerning the current draft decree governing the cybersecurity law that has caused so much controversy in the interwebs. One clause, the requirement for offshore companies to establish onshore domain hosting along with a branch/rep office is particularly controversial. Below I quote from our security alert on this issue, as [...]
I try not to let my personal life interfere with this blog too much, though I do on occasion tell personal stories. I'm currently sitting in Laos Plaza Hotel in Vientiane, Laos, and wondering at the difference between Vietnam and Laos. While there is indeed some new construction here in Vientiane, it is nothing like [...]
Sharp, the Japanese electronics giant, has announced plans to build a manufacturing site here in Vietnam according to Nikkei Asia here. This is the latest news in the continuing trade war between the United States and China, and provides an opportunity to examine the impacts of the trade war on a country like Vietnam. Much [...]
As reprinted in Vietnam+, here, the Vietnam News Agency has called for increased technology transfer to production companies in Vietnam. The call sites dismal numbers of high tech usage by manufacturers in Vietnam stating that nearly 60% of manufacturers are using technology that is outdated while only 2% use high technology. This is disturbing, especially in [...]
The Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed by representatives of both parties on Sunday in Hanoi. While this is not the final step for execution of the agreement, this is a major milestone and will, more than likely, lead to adoption by the EU. In this article, here, Nicolas Audier discusses the benefits of [...]