Vietnam
Vietnam's headline inflation sits below target. But rent, food and school fees are rising much faster than the average, and some families now save almost nothing each month.
Vietnam
He spent most of his career as a second-tier coach in South Korea. At 58, he took the Vietnam job and became a national hero. On June 12, 2026, his two worlds won on the same day — and at 66, his next stop is Thailand.
Vietnam
Vietnam's 2026 graduation exam asked students how the country can produce its own Steve Jobs, and the whole country started arguing. Line up the twelve essay questions asked since 2015 and you can see exactly where this one came from.
Vietnam
Schmidt says Vietnam's treasure is its people. Vietnam is using a homegrown model, national labs and chips to push AI up to the level of national sovereignty. But the whole bet may come down to something far more basic: power.
Vietnam
In Ho Chi Minh City, more young people are skipping the club on weekends to pour their own scented candle or zone out for an afternoon at a healing cafe. Healing is becoming something Vietnam's Gen Z will happily pay for.
Vietnam
Over 30 years, Thai capital quietly became Vietnam's eighth-largest foreign investor by buying local brands, building an ecosystem, and tracking the diplomatic upgrade. Now Thai firms want to list directly in Ho Chi Minh City — a shift from quiet acquisition to the public stage.
Vietnam
He swept the beaches of Ha Long Bay for seven years. Then his plain-spoken 'autobiographical rap' about ordinary lives turned him into a singer who reaches across generations in Vietnam — and he poured the money back into rural classrooms.
In-depth analysis of Vietnam's politics, economy, business, technology, and culture.
Vietnam has about 500,000 coffee shops, and all major chains combined still account for less than 1% of the market. Chains and street vendors aren't really competing — they sell completely different things.
MWG is spinning off Vietnam's biggest consumer electronics chain, Điện Máy Xanh, at a near-USD 4 billion valuation — but all proceeds repay the parent's short-term debt, and retail investors get a free float of under 15%.
More than 30 empty storefronts on one stretch of Hanoi's Kim Mã street. Rents in some wards down 37% from 2025 peaks. And landlords still can't find tenants. The reason is structural, not seasonal.
Roughly 2.56 million households exempted from tax; mandatory e-invoicing above the threshold; a 12-year-old union fee finally tied to social insurance. Vietnam's three new decrees are rolling out across the first half of 2026.
When Vietnam introduced its two-child policy in 1988, the country's fertility rate was still above 4. Almost 40 years later, the same government is about to start paying women to have babies.
The company calls it selling the factory and going asset-light. But look closer — who is buying, and where does the debt go?
Vietnam has climbed into Numbeo's global top ten for unaffordable housing. Buying a home now takes over 30 years of income, and homes are drifting away from wages.
Most people picture Vietnam's natural disasters as typhoons and floods, not earthquakes. But halfway through this month, Vietnam has already had two. 'Vietnam isn't in a seismic zone' is true — stretching that into 'no earthquakes' misses what's actually happening.
AEON Vietnam runs three private-brand lines — MY CLOSET (apparel), Home Coordy (homewares), TopValu (food) — to encroach on Uniqlo, Nitori, and similar specialty retailers. Plus an 'Accompany & Level Up' program turning Vietnamese factories into AEON's supply chain.
Vietnam's airport Fast Track is a service most other countries don't sell. Pay a small fee, skip a long immigration line, and ride a lane originally meant for diplomats. Klook and GetYourGuide carry the listings. Vietnamese passports cannot use them.
How Vietnam's Labor Ministry designed an approval process that workers paid for, $500 at a time.
Five retail giants are scaling up in Vietnam in 2026, each in a different lane: rural minimarts (WinCommerce), local cooperative (Saigon Co.op), 22-year brand harvest (Central), multi-format retail (AEON), premium complexes (Lotte). All racing past the 13–15% modern-retail window.