Vingroup proposes new unit to build, run Vietnam's $61bn bullet train
Vingroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong, the country's first billionaire, submitted his plan to the government on May 6, the same day Vuong established VinSpeed, a new company he and his family members own alongside Vingroup.
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Nikkei Asia
14 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Vietnam's VinFast opens 1st India plant, seeks local sourcing
Pham Sanh Chau, VinFast's Asia CEO, left, and Ashwin Patil, deputy CEO of VinFast India, unveil the newly launched VF 7 electric vehicle at India's five-day auto show in New Delhi on Jan. 18. © Reuters THOOTHUKUDI, India (Reuters) -- Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast is in talks with several component manufacturers as it looks to source more from India, the company's Asia CEO said on Monday. The firm is in discussions with several of its current component suppliers, and some want to shift part of their production to an industrial park in India, VinFast Asia CEO Pham Sanh Chau told Reuters on the sidelines of the inauguration of its Indian plant in the southern city of Thoothukudi. Global manufacturers are increasingly looking to diversify their supply chains by shifting production to India, as rising geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, and cost pressures make China less attractive as the sole manufacturing base. "We also have an inquiry from (a manufacturer in) Vietnam who would love to shift their plastic production to support our car," he added, though he did not provide names of companies considering the shift. VinFast plans to roll out cars to showrooms in India later this month, he said. The pricing and exact launch date have not yet been disclosed. Last year, VinFast and Tamil Nadu state agreed to work toward an investment of up to $2 billion, with an intended commitment of $500 million for the first five years. The plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles. Chau also said the Indian plant had received orders from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Mauritius, and these initial overseas orders were positioning the India facility to become an export-oriented manufacturing hub, though the firm's immediate focus remained on meeting demand from Indian customers. VinFast has set a global delivery target of 200,000 cars for 2025, having sold about 72,100 units in the first half of the year, primarily in its home market.
The Diplomat
3 days ago
- The Diplomat
How Is Vietnam Navigating the New Trade War Era?
Can Vietnam adapt its economic model to this era of geopolitical fragmentation – or will it become collateral damage in someone else's trade war? When U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Vietnam with a 46 percent tariff on April 2 – 'Liberation Day' – he exposed a fundamental contradiction at the heart of the Southeast Asian country's economic miracle. For years, Vietnam had perfected the art of being indispensable to both the United States and China – a nimble intermediary that helped both superpowers circumvent their own destructive trade war. Since 2017, its exports to the U.S. had nearly tripled, transforming it into a manufacturing powerhouse that seemed immune to geopolitical disruption. But as a Vietnamese proverb warns: When buffalo and oxen lock horns, mosquitoes suffer. As Trump doubles down on decoupling from China, 'connector economies' like Vietnam are caught in the crossfire. With a ballooning trade surplus with the United States – third only to China and Mexico in 2024 – Vietnam has drawn accusations of acting as a transshipment hub for Chinese goods. Trump's senior counselor, Peter Navarro, went so far as to call the country 'a colony of communist China.' Although the initial tariff was eventually suspended, the threat rattled Vietnam's economy. Its Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) plunged to 45.6 in April – its sharpest contraction since the pandemic. While May and June brought marginal rebounds, the index remained below the critical 50 mark, pointing to continued weakness in export orders. True to form, Vietnam responded with its trademark agility. Within days of the 'Liberation Day' announcement, To Lam, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the country's powerful new leader, was on the phone with Trump offering concessions. A flurry of diplomacy followed: a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, trips to Moscow and Central Asia, and trade overtures to France and Thailand. Hanoi eventually reached a deal with the U.S., yet the compromise – a dual-tariff system of 20 percent on Vietnamese-made goods and 40 percent on those deemed 'transshipped' from China – was just a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Vietnam's deeper dilemma is structural. As the United States and China decouple, the room for profitable neutrality narrows. The country can no longer just plug into the highest-return circuit. Economic globalization, which has powered Vietnam's rise, is fracturing. The challenge now is existential: can Vietnam adapt its economic model to this era of geopolitical fragmentation – or will it become collateral damage in someone else's trade war?
Kyodo News
4 days ago
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 1, 2025
TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- U.S., S. Korea reaffirm commitment to N. Korean denuclearization WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday reaffirmed with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun their countries' "resolute commitment" to the complete denuclearization of North Korea. During a meeting in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the top diplomats also voiced "serious" concern about North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia, while welcoming a trade agreement between Washington and Seoul. ---------- Myanmar junta lifts 4.5-year emergency to pave way for election YANGON - Myanmar's ruling military on Thursday lifted a state of emergency it had maintained for four and a half years -- a step required to hold a general election it plans for December, amid the ongoing civil war. State-run television reported that the military government has "successfully resolved the matters it had when the state of emergency was announced on Feb. 1, 2021," citing the junta chief, who spoke at a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council -- Myanmar's top decision-making body, which includes the junta chief. ---------- Japan to invite nuclear disarmament confab chair for A-Bomb anniv. TOKYO - The Japanese government plans to invite Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Nations Do Hung Viet, who will chair next year's major nuclear disarmament conference, to attend the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in early August, government sources said Thursday. It will be the first time a chair of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference, which is held every five years in principle, attends the memorial ceremony, the Foreign Ministry said, citing data since 2000. The move signals Japan's desire to use his presence to help build momentum toward disarmament. ---------- Yen weakens to 150 vs. dollar on receding early BOJ rate hike hope TOKYO - The yen briefly weakened to the 150 range against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, its lowest level since early April, on receding speculation over an early interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. The Japanese currency was already facing selling pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan decided to keep their benchmark interest rates steady in their latest policy meetings, in a sign that the U.S.-Japan interest rate differential will remain wide. ---------- Japan cleared of all tsunami advisories after quake off Russia coast TOKYO - Japan on Thursday lifted its last remaining tsunami advisories issued after the previous day's magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, with only minimal damage seen from waves that reached the country's Pacific shores. The massive quake that struck at 8:24 a.m. Japan time on Wednesday prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to send out tsunami warnings for coastal areas from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Wakayama Prefecture in the west, at one point affecting some 2 million people with evacuation orders. ---------- Toyota to resume all 11 halted domestic plants on Fri. NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will resume operations at all 11 halted plants in Japan on Friday, after they were suspended following tsunami warnings and advisories triggered by a powerful earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The carmaker suspended operations at the plants Thursday morning following the stoppage of eight of its domestic plants Wednesday as its supply chain was disrupted. ---------- TEPCO logs net loss in April-June on Fukushima plant cleanup TOKYO - Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Thursday it posted a net loss of 857.69 billion yen ($5.8 billion) for the April-June period, pressured by a special loss related to decommissioning work at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The second largest quarterly loss since the 2011 nuclear crisis is a sharp deterioration from a profit of 79.24 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. ---------- Macao makes 1st arrest under 2009 national security law HONG KONG - Macao police said Thursday they have arrested a 68-year-old man for colluding with foreign forces, making it the first-ever known case since the former Portuguese colony enacted its own national security law in 2009. The suspect is Au Kam-san, a leading pro-democracy activist and former opposition lawmaker. His arrest on Wednesday came ahead of a legislative election in the semiautonomous region of China scheduled for Sept. 14. ---------- Video: Demonstration flight of flying car conducted at Osaka Expo
