After nearly three years of intense negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Vietnam agreed to a free trade agreement (FTA) on Tuesday that will remove nearly all tariffs on goods traded between the two countries. “We have a deal. This finely balanced agreement will boost trade with one of Asia’s most dynamic economies. It sets a new, better … Continue reading
China’s ambitious New Silk Road initiative — that aims to deepen the country’s economic integration with more than 40 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe by creating an unbroken transport and infrastructure network to boost connectivity — is credit positive for the emerging market sovereigns involved, Moody’s Investors Services said on Tuesday. Moody’s says … Continue reading
Vietnamese equities are outperforming the rest of Southeast Asia as the government is to remove a 49% foreign ownership cap in September. The Vietnamese stock market has climbed 13.4% and is leading gains in Southeast Asia followed by the Philippines so far this year. Investors are preferring large cap names as they offer more liquidity. Here are … Continue reading
By Chu Nguyen The appreciation of the Vietnamese dong, coupled with characteristics specific to Vietnam’s transitional economy, leaves the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) with difficult choices in conducting monetary policy. Luckily, the SBV retains adequate fiscal flexibility to respond to this pressure through its exchange rate policy. Vietnam has, for several decades, pegged the dong to … Continue reading
As Vietnam eyes an upgrade from frontier market status to emerging market status by MSCI, the nation has eased curbs on foreign ownership in an effort to boost inflows to the nation’s stocks, Bloomberg reports on Sunday. Foreign investors can now increase holdings to 100 percent from 49 percent starting in September in “a number” of industries, according … Continue reading
In a move to jumpstart its lagging investment climate, Vietnam is set to ease business regulations by the most in 25 years as it plans on accelerating the sale of its state-owned firms starting on July 1, Bloomberg reports. Starting July 1, the Vietnamese government will reduce the number of areas in which firms are prohibited from operating from … Continue reading
Earlier this year on March 1, EMerging Equity reported in details that India proposed creating a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). We are three months later in June and the EEU and India have started negotiations over the free trade zone agreement and signed a framework agreement at the International Economic Forum in St. … Continue reading
“The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam signed a free trade zone agreement on Thursday. It became the first international document on creating a free trade zone between the EEU and a third party,” RT reports. “The deal to establish the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan … Continue reading
Japanese general contractors won bids for a string of subway projects in Southeast Asia in 2013 and 2014, and they are now preparing to start construction. Among the projects is Singapore’s Thomson Line, a 30km-long all-underground line that could determine whether Japan’s urban subway tunnel technology can compete in overseas markets. By Nikkei Asian Review … Continue reading
China’s 21st Century Maritime New Silk Road project may facilitate the resolution of longstanding maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Chinese media suggests. These disputes involve at least six parties, particularly China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Brunei has abandoned its territorial claim in the Spratlys and Malaysia has a relatively minor claim in … Continue reading