Vietnam May exports up 17% y/y, industrial production up 9.4%
HANOI, June 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam reported double-digit growth in exports and imports in May, government data showed on Friday, as shipments in and out of the industrial hub accelerated before the United States' threatened "reciprocal" tariffs take effect.
Exports in May rose 17% from a year earlier to $39.60 billion, while imports were up 14.1% at $39.04 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $560 million for the month, the National Statistics Office said in a report.
Earlier this week, the government had said exports had risen an annual 14% in May.
The Southeast Asian country faces a 46% "reciprocal" tariff from President Trump if a trade deal cannot be negotiated before a pause on the levies ends in July. If the tariffs come into effect, they could seriously undermine a growth model that relies on exports to the United States, its top market.
Consumer prices in May rose 3.24% from a year earlier, the NSO said, while industrial production rose an annual 9.4% and retail sales were up 10.2%.
Foreign investment inflows in the January-May period rose 7.9% from a year earlier to $8.9 billion, the NSO said. Foreign investment pledges over the period soared 51.2% to $18.4 billion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
South African rand stable ahead of US-China trade talks
JOHANNESBURG, June 9 (Reuters) - The South African rand was steady in early trade on Monday, as markets awaited pivotal U.S.-China trade talks set to take place later in the day that could ease tensions between the two nations. At 0621 GMT the rand traded at 17.7450 against the dollar , near Friday's closing level. Three top aides of U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with their Chinese counterparts in London later in the day to discuss the trade dispute between the two countries, a standoff that has kept global markets on edge. Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers like U.S. policy and economic data in addition to local factors. Domestic investors this week will look to manufacturing (ZAMAN=ECI), opens new tab and mining (ZAMNG=ECI), opens new tab data to gauge the health of Africa's most industrialised economy. Attention remains on the country's long-delayed budget after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his third attempt at passing it, made only minor adjustments to spending plans and deficit projections. On Wednesday the National Assembly is expected to debate the revised fiscal framework adopted by a key parliamentary committee last week. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was also flat in early deals, with the yield at 10.075%.
Coin Geek
41 minutes ago
- Coin Geek
The startup playbook: Why SEA is leading with purpose, not just profit
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... As emerging technologies redraw the competitive map, Southeast Asia's startup founders are rewriting the rules—not by chasing unicorn status, but by building resilient, impact-driven companies that solve real-world problems. That was the powerful message from a panel discussion at the Asia Tech x Singapore Summit featuring Yinglan Tan (Founding Managing Partner, Insignia Ventures), Dr. James Ong (Founder, AI International Institute), and Yanan Wu (Founder & CEO, Surfin Group). Yanan Wu: The next billion users For Wu, the mission is clear: bring financial access to underserved communities using artificial intelligence (AI) and social data. 'We use social behavior data to give them a credit score, to give a micro-learning program so that they can start a journey,' said Wu, whose fintech platform serves 70 million users across 10 countries. 'Everyone deserves a financial advisor, whether you're rich or you're underprivileged.' Wu emphasized the vast untapped potential in underserved and emerging markets, pointing out that the real opportunity for unicorn creation lies not just in mature markets but in reaching the 'next billion users.' 'There are still hundreds of millions of people in this region who are either unbanked or underbanked. That's a huge opportunity,' he said. 'The tech has to be scalable, yes, but it also has to be meaningful to people. What's the utility? That's what drives sustainable growth.' Wu added that understanding hyperlocal needs—whether in rural Indonesia or secondary cities in Vietnam—will determine which companies can truly scale across Southeast Asia. His drive isn't just intellectual—it's personal. A former nuclear physicist turned entrepreneur, he lives on red-eye flights to lead a multi-country operation. 'You need resilience to cross over different cycles… Sometimes, it feels lonely. But you always have to cherish the moment where you came from, why you want to do this, and where you're going,' he shared. Wu's ambition goes beyond scale. He believes Southeast Asia has a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional financial models and embrace what he calls 'agentic AI'—financial co-pilots for the underbanked. 'In the past, banks could not reach those remote areas. Now, technology can be flat. Technology can be scalable. Technology can be sustained.' Yinglan Tan: Growth happens in cycles Tan, whose venture fund backs companies like Wu's, echoed the importance of vision and grit. When evaluating founders, Tan looks for one thing: 'They're unstoppable.' He described successful entrepreneurs as those who 'see a wall—they go on top of it, around it, dig under it, or make friends with the wall to get things done.' Beyond hustle, Tan emphasized the ability to hire well, operate globally, and maintain perspective. 'They don't treat competitors as enemies. They see each day as a football match—you play to win, but you play by the rules. And when the day is done, it's another match.' Tan believes Southeast Asia is moving past a correction phase and entering what he called a 'refounding' phase—an environment that favors innovation built on stronger fundamentals. 'What we are seeing is that companies that have gone through that discipline are now coming out stronger. There are a number of companies that are now going regional. I think that is the next phase of growth,' said Tan. 'We also look for founders that are missionary rather than mercenary because you need a missionary to last the ten years required to build a great company.' He added that venture capitalists (VCs) are not simply searching for flashy tech or growth stories. The right founder-market fit, the ability to adapt, and a clear understanding of business fundamentals are just as crucial—if not more so—than hype. James Ong: AI as Infrastructure Dr. Ong urged founders to think beyond vanity metrics like valuations. 'Why are we focusing on unicorns? In Silicon Valley, it's all a financial engineering play. In Southeast Asia, we have a chance to reset the narrative,' he said. Instead of unicorns, he champions 'zebra-cons'—startups that balance profit with purpose. 'We also measure how much better life people are achieving, how much energy we're using.' Ong offered a perspective rooted in deep tech and AI, framing AI not just as a tool but as an infrastructure layer that can drive exponential value—if harnessed properly. 'We see AI as the next form of infrastructure, like electricity or the Internet,' he said. 'But the challenge is how to democratize AI, so it's not just in the hands of the big players.' He believes the next unicorn could emerge from a company that not only uses AI but also builds platforms that enable others to use AI to solve local problems—from agriculture and healthcare to logistics and finance. 'Democratization and localization of AI will be key. And that means building models, data, and interfaces that are actually trained and tested in Southeast Asia, not just imported from somewhere else,' he noted. Key takeaways Southeast Asia isn't just riding the AI wave—it's shaping a new one. 'Southeast Asia is at an inflection point,' said Dr. Ong. 'Entrepreneurs here are not only delivering economic value—they're solving humanity's problems with resilience and heart.' Watch: Alex Ball on the future of tech: AI development and entrepreneurship title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Ukraine plots fracking revolution
Ukraine is working to unleash natural gas fracking with the goal of becoming a major exporter and revolutionising Europe's energy market. In plans critical to Volodymyr Zelensky's hopes of a post-war economic recovery, ministers in Kyiv are scrambling to lure private investment and gain access to new drilling technology to access the country's vast untapped shale gas resources. According to sources close to Kyiv, officials are racing to attract 'foreign technology and highly experienced subsoil users', with a focus on unconventional shale resources in western Ukraine. The hunt for cash - as revealed by the independent news platform Energy Flux - is being conducted in parallel to the rare earth minerals deal struck between Donald Trump and President Zelensky in April, which will allow the US to exploit Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminium, graphite, oil and natural gas. The priority is to rapidly revitalise Ukraine's ailing gas sector after a gruelling winter saw roughly 40pc of production capacity taken out by a fierce Russian campaign of drone and missile strikes. The attacks forced Ukraine to draw heavily on its gas stocks, which ended winter almost entirely depleted. But Ukraine's Ministry of Energy believes it is possible to refill the country's cavernous underground storage facilities and even produce a surplus for export 'within 18 months', according to a senior government source. LNG reliance Ukraine already has some experience with advanced drilling technology for old wells and has since carried out experimental trials that 'confirm its potential' for fracking, they said. However, to unlock Ukraine's shale reserves, the country needs to attract more investment and newer kit, primarily from America. 'Development and production can be quickly developed using available gas infrastructure with connections to the EU gas market that make it very attractive,' the source added. 'Ukraine has enough deposits of traditional gas to cover its own consumption and to become a net exporter, and shale gas production has quite a profound effect on its development.' Such a turnaround would help transform the fortunes of Europe's energy markets, which remain on edge following the loss of Russian pipeline gas exports via Ukraine at the start of 2025. Refilling Ukraine's depleted gas storage – the largest in Europe, at 32bn cubic metres – is one of the main factors tightening energy markets in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of next winter. Ukraine's gas stocks are today just 7pc full compared to the EU average of 50pc. Efforts to pipe natural gas from Southern and Eastern Europe into Ukraine have also been thwarted by red tape and a lack of market cohesion. However, if Ukraine could unleash its own shale revolution and create a surplus for export, the need to keep pumping European gas into Ukraine would effectively disappear overnight. It would also help reduce Europe's reliance on costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from overseas. Gas-starved Europe leaned heavily on LNG after Gazprom, the Kremlin-backed energy giant, halted exports to the EU following Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian shale gas exports, if scaled up quickly, would erase a large chunk of European energy demand currently being met by LNG, potentially sparking a sharp drop in energy prices around the world. Attracting foreign investors However, Kyiv's proposed fracking revolution hinges largely on the country's ability to secure overseas investment. Officials from Ukraine's Ministry of Energy are tapping Western diplomatic ties to find private capital funds with a high tolerance for risk to bankroll drilling and bring in technology partners. A senior government team attended the Baku Energy Forum in Azerbaijan last week in part to promote Ukraine's potential as a shale hub. Speaking at the event, one high-ranking statesman said the Lviv-Lublin geological area that straddles the Ukraine-Poland border is 'superior on the Ukrainian side' thanks to higher porosity and lower clay content, making it 'better for fracking'. The most promising prospect is the Oleska (Olesskaya) shale block, which contains an estimated 0.8 to 1.5 trillion cubic metres of shale gas resources – enough to meet Ukraine's domestic needs for decades. How much of this resource is economically recoverable is an open question. Chevron walked away from a 50pc interest in the Oleska project in 2014 before drilling could begin. Chevron's stated reason for leaving was not because of political instability or lack of resources, but rather Kyiv's failure to enact specific tax reforms necessary to enable shale gas foreign investment. Now, the Zelensky administration is moving to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic hurdles that previously deterred foreign investors. Ownership of the Olesskaya production sharing agreement (PSA) was transferred in April 2025 from government holding company Nadra Ukraine to Ukraine's largest oil and gas producer, Ukrnafta. The move signalled a strategic shift in the country's approach to fracking, particularly in the Oleska block. Ukrnafta is a state-owned enterprise following the nationalisation of strategic industries and declaration of martial law in 2022, which remains in force to this day. Attracting significant private capital into Ukrainian shale exploration would normally be impossible under these circumstances. However, the source said there are laws in place to ensure they can be overwritten.
