Frequent disasters encourage Southeast Asians to prepare. A man drives a motorbike in a flooded street after heavy rains in Hanoi, Vietnam, in September 2023.
Natural disasters

Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia top global disaster-readiness poll

Alerts, household planning build resilience as volatility rises, Gallup says

25 August 2024
A boy swims in a pool at a Vinhomes condominium complex in Ho Chi Minh City: Demand for housing in Vietnam's big cities outstrips supply, buoying prices.
Property

Vietnam's housing market sees green shoots of recovery

Fears of crash subside but apartment shortage persists

22 August 2024
Ticket machines at Ben Thanh Station on Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line No. 1 are waiting to be used. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Transportation

Vietnam's first subway mired in more delays amid planned 2024 start

Hitachi files for arbitration over Ho Chi Minh City payments in Japan-led project

22 August 2024
FPT Japan’s new office in Mita, Tokyo. (Photo by Koji Nozawa)
Technology

Vietnam's FPT invests $200m to launch AI services in Japan, other places

Firm to start cloud ops with Nvidia GPU, expand personnel to 5,000 by 2025

20 August 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, hosts Vietnam's President To Lam at a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 19.
International relations

Xi Jinping meets Vietnam's new leader To Lam to renew 'priority' ties

South China Sea rivals sign 14 deals, from railways to crocodile and durian trade

19 August 2024
Coffee prices have been soaring in recent months, with London futures for robusta coffee beans reaching a historic high in July. (Source photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Market Spotlight

Coffee prices volatile on climate, shipping crunch, forest regulation

Unpredictable weather will increase cost of production in the long run

19 August 2024
Vietnamese President To Lam attends a press briefing at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on June. 20, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Southeast Asian country.
International relations

Vietnam's To Lam arrives in China, set to meet Xi Jinping

State visit marks Lam's first after taking country's top post earlier this month

18 August 2024
Vietnam's new leader To Lam, a former police officer, was appointed Communist Party general secretary in August. 
Your Week in Asia

Japan-India 2+2, Thai GDP, Vietnam leader in China

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

18 August 2024
Solar panels at a nearby industrial park also run by Sumitomo Corp. will help power the smart city. (Sumitomo Corp.)
Energy

Japan's Sumitomo to supply power for its Vietnam smart city

Solar and biomass plants at trading house's nearby industrial park to be tapped

17 August 2024
Vietnamese President To Lam attends a press briefing at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on June 20. (Pool photo via Reuters)
International relations

Vietnam's top leader to visit China from Sunday

To Lam meeting with Xi Jinping to strengthen Communist nations' ties

15 August 2024
Amid surging labor demand in an AI boom, Vietnam aims to train at least 50,000 chip engineers and designers by 2030 as industry giants look to offset severe staff shortages in their home markets. (Illustration by Yoshiko Kawano)
The Big Story

Vietnam turns chip sector magnet with affordable, quality talent pool

US, Taiwan, South Korean players beat path to Vietnam though boom strains resources

14 August 2024
Philippine Coast Guard personnel, right, salute a Vietnam Coast Guard vessel during their joint drills conducted in Manila Bay on Aug. 9. (Photo by Ramon Royandoyan)
South China Sea

Philippines-Vietnam drills show ASEAN a solution to China

Big step as partners cooperate in South China Sea without presence of U.S. or Japan

13 August 2024
Customers who buy a movie ticket with the MoMo app can be entered into a lottery for prizes. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Media & Entertainment

Vietnam payment app uses Detective Conan to lure customers to stores

MoMo taps Japanese anime for tie-ups that promote online-to-offline commerce

11 August 2024
A train on the newly opened Hanoi Metro Line 3 sits at Cau Giay Station in the Vietnamese capital. (Photo by Nguyen Van Anh)
Transportation

Vietnam opens 2nd Hanoi metro line after 9-year delay

Elevated portion now in service with work ongoing for underground section

8 August 2024
High-profile Vietnamese business tycoon Trinh Van Quyet is escorted to court on July 22 for his trial in Hanoi.
Crime

Vietnamese billionaire sentenced to 21 years in $150m fraud case

Prominent tycoon Trinh Van Quyet found guilty of inflating value of his company

6 August 2024
John Lee, center, in Ho Chi Minh City. He is the first Hong Kong chief executive to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Trade

Hong Kong has ASEAN backing to join RCEP trade pact: John Lee

City goes on charm offensive after COVID-19, security law dent reputation

6 August 2024
Philippine Coast Guard personnel wave Vietnamese and Filipino flags to welcome the Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8002 in Manila on Aug. 5. Despite Hanoi and Manila holding competing claims in the South China Sea, the joint exercises are seen as a way to strengthen maritime cooperation amid China's aggression.
South China Sea

Philippines-Vietnam drills to set blueprint for South China Sea disputes

Two nations seek cooperation despite competing claims to waters

5 August 2024
To Lam's rise to lead the Communist Party of Vietnam follows a 20-month period of political turmoil.
Politics

Vietnam confirms To Lam as Communist Party chief

Next question is if ex-security minister concentrates power by also remaining president

3 August 2024
Convenience stores under the WinMart+ brand are at the center of Masan's retail expansion plans. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Retail

Vietnam retailer Masan aims for 30m loyalty members in expansion bid

Conglomerate plans to triple convenience stores to 10,000 by 2030

3 August 2024
Paddy is loaded onto a truck as farmers harvest a rice field in Thailand's Chainat province. Bangkok has significantly increased its exports of the grain to the Philippines this year.
Commodities

Thailand, Vietnam vie to grow rice market share in the Philippines

Faltering domestic supply forces Manila to rely on imports from neighbors

2 August 2024
VinFast expects to deliver 20,000 VF 3 mini SUVs this year. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Electric vehicles

Vietnam's VinFast rolls out mini e-SUV for under $13,000

Carmaker aims to deliver at least 20,000 of the compact EVs this year

1 August 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, meets Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Aug. 1. (Photo from the X account of the official spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs)
International relations

India and Vietnam to enhance defense cooperation

Pham Minh Chinh becomes first Vietnamese prime minister to visit India in a decade

1 August 2024
GDP for the ASEAN six is expected to increase by an average of 5.1% annually until 2034, outpacing China's projected growth of 3.5% to 4.5%. (Source photos by Ken Kobayashi and Reuters)
Economy

Southeast Asia to outpace China's GDP growth and foreign investment: report

Think tank projects 5.1% average growth next decade in six key economies

1 August 2024
Smoke rises from the chimney of a paper factory outside Hanoi, Vietnam, in May 2018.
Opinion

Vietnam's Just Energy Transition Partnership is not 'Just'

Poor financing and governance, suppression of activists put energy future at risk

30 July 2024