Chinese fast-fashion retailer SHEIN reduced its leased warehouse space near Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City from 15 to 6 hectares and laid off thousands of workers in August 2026, abandoning a year-long experiment to build Vietnam into a major export base; the end of the US de minimis duty-free exemption for shipments under US$800, applied to all countries not just China, removed the advantage that made Vietnam attractive over China; SHEIN is refocusing on its Chinese supply chain ahead of a planned Hong Kong IPO
A speedboat carrying tourists capsized less than half a kilometer from shore off southern Vietnam's Phu Quoc island on July 11, killing at least 15 Indian tourists; the Indian embassy in Hanoi set up a control room, and Indian authorities in the affected tourists' home states activated emergency response.
A new population law effective July 1 extends maternity leave from six to seven months for second children, adds free prenatal screenings and a cash bonus, as Vietnam faces the prospect of ageing before it reaches high-income status
Hanoi Stock Exchange begins pilot trading for 110 industrial facilities covering thermal power, steel, and cement , 511 million tCO2e allocated for 2025-2026, first-day price around $5 per tonne
Mothers having a second child now receive an extra month of maternity leave, free prenatal screenings and a cash bonus, one year after Vietnam abolished the two-child limit that defined family planning for four decades
The world's most-traded tropical commodity by value, connecting 25 million farming households across the southern hemisphere to import markets in Europe and North America.
A 3.5-million-km² marginal sea bordered by six governments whose competing claims, backed by China's military build-up and an unenforceable 2016 international ruling, have made it the world's foremost maritime flashpoint.
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh revealed at Shangri-La that Vietnam's deal was signed quietly last fiscal; Indonesia confirmed an agreement in March; Operation Sindoor's combat debut put the missile in every buyer's brief
To Lam was reelected Communist Party general secretary in January 2026 and elected president in April, merging the top two positions for the first time since Ho Chi Minh and ending Vietnam's collective-leadership tradition