Vietnam Briefing’s Most Popular News in 2022

Vietnam Briefing publishes regularly throughout the year key stories that shape how business is conducted in Vietnam. Here’s a short run down of the most popular topics and articles from 2022.

Vietnam’s economy went on a tumultuous ride in 2022. The Southeast Asian nation was still struggling with the tail-end of the pandemic at the start of the year, only to go on to end the year with record high levels of trade.

This list covers just a few of the key events and changes that have taken place throughout the year. These are the topics and articles that Vietnam Briefing readers gravitated towards. They cover a whole range of developments and may provide an insight into what to expect moving into 2023.

1. COVID-19 Business News and Travel Updates

At the beginning of 2022 Vietnam was still grappling with the tail-end of the pandemic. With borders closed for the better part of two years, there was strong demand for information about when Vietnam might reopen.

These two articles outline what was happening, when it was happening. They outline the key changes that were taking place in Vietnam throughout the pandemic. This includes with regard to policy changes and economic stimulus.

• COVID-19 in Vietnam: Travel Updates and Restrictions
• Vietnam Business Operations and the Coronavirus: Updates

2. Imports and Exports

With Vietnam’s booming economy and a myriad of free trade agreements coming into force, it makes sense that imports and exports should come in second in Vietnam Briefing’s Most Popular News in 2022.

As Vietnam’s economy expands, and as the wealth among its consumer class grows, the demand for high-end and exotic imports will only grow stronger. Shifts in supply chains out of China and into Southeast Asia will likely see exports continue to climb as well, with Vietnam well on the way to becoming an import-export powerhouse.

The three articles below break down the industries and products that are at the nexis of Vietnam’s imports and exports and the processes and policies import-export traders should know.

• An Introduction to Vietnam’s Import and Export Industries
• A Guide to Import and Export Procedures in Vietnam
• Vietnam’s Import and Export Regulations Explained

3. Free Trade Agreements

When it comes to multilateral free trade agreements Vietnam has signed on to about 15. But understanding these overlapping agreements and how they can benefit foreign investors can be tricky.

This article: Vietnam’s Free Trade Agreements – Opportunities for Your Business proved very popular with readers eager to learn all they could about Vietnam’s free trade agreements.

This article outlines the myriad of free trade agreements in Vietnam’s trade arsenal, the benefits to foreign forms, and the challenges firms should be aware of as they seek to take advantage of these new agreements.

4. Russia and Ukraine and Vietnam

How the Russia-Ukraine Conflict is Affecting Businesses in Vietnam, a standalone article written by the Vietnam-Briefing’s former Senior Editor, Pritesh Samuel, outlines the key impacts of the conflict in Eastern Europe on Vietnam’s economy and business operations.

Vietnam and Russia, and Vietnam and Ukraine, have long shared histories. The USSR had strong ties to Vietnam and when it broke apart those ties remained in many ways. For example, Vietnam-Russia and Vietnam-Ukraine trade have both been exceptionally strong in recent years.

Between Vietnam and Russia bilateral trade reached US$5.5 billion in 2021 up 13.8 percent over the year before.

By the same metric, Vietnam-Ukraine trade turnover was estimated at US$720 million in 2021, up 50 percent over 2020.

These two trading relationships combined have created a somewhat challenging landscape that merchants, traders, and firms should be aware of when doing business in Vietnam.

5. Manufacturing

Rounding out Vietnam Briefing’s most read articles in 2022 is: Why Manufacturing is Driving Vietnam’s Growth by Cece Nguyen. In this article, Cece takes a deep dive into Vietnam’s manufacturing sector.

In 2020, 58.2 percent of Vietnam’s total FDI headed for the manufacturing and processing sector. This has played a big part in Vietnam’s economic growth, even with the challenges presented by the pandemic–Vietnam was among only a handful of nations whose economies continued to grow during the pandemic.

Nguyen points out that the China-plus-one movement, a gamut of multilateral free trade agreements, and competitive labor costs, have all made Vietnam a very attractive option for manufacturers looking to outsource to Asia.

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