• Economy Vietnam 1Q trade surplus narrows to $2.02 bln vs $2.8 bln
• Economy Vietnam credit growth hits 2.93% as of end-March
• Companies SK Group spends $410 mln for 16.26% stake in Masan’s retail arm
• Companies Central Retail to inject $1.1 bln into Vietnam in next 5 years
• News Vietnam’s health minister warns over new wave of COVID-19 pandemic

Central Retail purchases solar power for its Vietnam malls

Central Retail, an arm of Thailand’s largest retail conglomerate Central Group has signed an undisclosed deal to buy clean electricity from Norsk Solar Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Richest Man Plans Electric Car Factory in the U.S.

Vietnamese electric-vehicle startup VinFast plans to open a U.S. factory after setting up a 50-member San Francisco research office as it prepares for California automobile sales in 2022.

Casino operator stock skyrockets despite sustained losses

Ticker RIC of the Royal International Corporation has surged 755 percent since January despite the company reporting losses for years.

Vietnam manufactures 54.4 million mobile phones in Q1

Over 54 million mobile phones were produced in Vietnam in the first quarter. The phone and phone component industry also earned revenue of over $14 billion in the same period.

Vietnam to administer Nano Covax vaccine to the public early 2022

Vietnam has completed the second phase of the human trials of Nano Covax, a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, the Vietnam Military Medical University said on February 8.

Vietnam’s health minister warns over new wave of COVID-19 pandemic

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has warned of the 4th wave of coronavirus after two illegal entrants tested positive for COVID-19.

Vingroup Said to Weigh $2 Billion U.S. IPO of Unit VinFast: Bloomberg

Vingroup JSC is considering a U.S. initial public offering of its car unit VinFast that could raise about $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

SK Group spends $410 mln for 16.26% stake in Masan’s retail arm

South Korea’s third largest conglomerate SK Group has agreed to invest $410 million for a 16.26% equity stake in Masan Group’s VCM, a company holding VinCommerce shares.

Central Retail to inject $1.1 bln into Vietnam in next 5 years

Thai retail giant Central Retail plans to inject additional 35 billion THB ($5 billion) into Vietnam satisfiy the growing demand from the high-potential market.

Casino operator stock skyrockets despite sustained losses

Ticker RIC of the Royal International Corporation has surged 755 percent since January despite the company reporting losses for years.

Japan’s ENEOS Corp. to raise stake in Petrolimex to 11 percent

Japanese energy firm ENEOS Corporation has registered to buy 25 million treasury shares of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), according to exchange filing.

VN-Index plummets over 74 points

Hundreds of stocks were offloaded as investors were thrown into a state of panic selling, causing the VN-Index to plunge by a historical record of 74 points Tuesday morning.

Frasers Property to handover first luxury apartment project in Vietnam

Frasers Property, a Singaporean multinational real estate and property management company, was reported to be ready to handover its mixed-use Q2 Thao Dien to residents.

Real estate developer Nam Long achieves a new stature despite pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a challenging year for global and Vietnam’s economy particularly. In the difficult context, Nam Long Group conducted a series of M&A in the real estate market.

Masterise Homes starts construction on the world’s largest Marriott branded residences

Masterise Homes held the groundbreaking ceremony of the Grand Marina, Saigon, the first ever JW Marriott and Marriott Branded Residences in Vietnam, in downtown of Ho Chi Minh City.

Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon CEO; Andy Jassy to Take Over

The company announced changing roles as it reported that revenue in the fourth quarter soared 44% to $125.56 billion

China failed to buy agreed amounts of U.S. goods under ‘phase one’ trade deal

China has so far failed to meet its committed purchases of U.S. goods under the “phase one” trade deal that it struck with the Trump administration.

Signal and Telegram downloads surge after WhatsApp says it will share data with Facebook

Downloads of privacy-focused messaging apps Signal and Telegram got a boost as users looked for alternatives to Facebook-owned WhatsApp over concerns about changes to the service’s privacy policy.