Vietnam News

Jollibee sells Highlands' parent company shares for 2.3 trillion dong, founder side to hold 51%

Jollibee sold an 11% stake in SF Vung Tau, the parent company of Highlands Coffee, to VTI for 2.3 trillion dong. Its holding drops to 49%, with the founder’s side holding 51%. This summarizes the payment terms and listing plans.

Four Vietnam-built offshore substations head to Poland, totaling 16,000 tons built simultaneously

Four 375MW-class offshore substations built in Vietnam by PTSC M&C are headed to Poland’s Baltica 2. Two of the four are already en route. The four substations and their support structures weigh a combined approximately 16,000 tons, and this also summarizes the division of roles with Semco Maritime.

Central invests a new 3.5 billion dollars in Vietnam, shifting store focus to tier 3 and 4 cities

Thailand’s Central Group to invest a new $3.5 billion in Vietnam. This summarizes the breakdown of $1.5 billion for retail and $2 billion for CPN and Centara, a store opening plan covering 200 candidate sites across four tiers in parallel, and the challenge of local sourcing exceeding 90%.

Golden Gate, with about 600 restaurants, starts up its second food plant in Phu Tho Province

Vietnamese food service giant Golden Gate has started operating its second food factory, in Phu Tho Province. Phase 1 covers 4 hectares and cost more than 600 billion dong, with capacity of 3,600 tons of meat per year and up to 10,000 pizza dough bases per day. This summarizes only what could be confirmed in the original article.

Sojitz acquires a 27.64% stake in Vietnamese airport services firm Taseco Airs

On September 14, 2026, Sojitz acquired a 27.64% stake in Vietnamese airport services company Taseco Airs (HOSE: AST) for approximately $40.5 million. This confirms the two selling funds, the deal terms, and the company’s business results.

Saeki Selva, with 56 stores in Japan, starts with workforce training for its 100-store push into Vietnam

Saeki Selva Holdings plans 100 stores in Vietnam. It established a local subsidiary with capital of $80,000 in May 2026, and its first store is set to open in Ho Chi Minh City within three years. The total investment amount and partner have not been disclosed.

Reading the Sendo Farm exit: how to navigate the two-player era in Vietnamese e-commerce

FPT-affiliated Sendo Farm shut down on July 10. Vietnamese e-commerce has converged on Shopee and TikTok Shop. We set out the practical platform choices Japanese companies entering the market need to make now.

Tineco, with 41% of vacuum cleaners, enters water purifiers: the move Japanese appliance makers should prepare

China's Tineco, with a 41% share in floor cleaning appliances, has launched a water purifier priced at about JPY 140,000. Extending its network of more than 200 dealers into the category is a direct competitive warning for Japanese appliance and water purifier makers competing in Vietnam.

Toward an era of banks owning life insurers: the lesson in Techcombank's VND 2.4 trillion capital increase

Techcombank has put an additional VND 2.4 trillion into Techcom Life, its one-year-old life insurance subsidiary, raising its capital to VND 4.3 trillion. We read the next move for Japanese insurers and financial firms in a Vietnam where bank-owned life insurance is spreading.

LocknLock shifts from directly operated stores to franchising: what Japanese housewares makers can read about reaching the provinces

Korea's LocknLock has shifted in Vietnam from a directly operated model to franchising and is recruiting partners in provincial cities. From its flexible 30 to 200 square meter store model, we read the approach to provincial reach that Japanese housewares makers can learn from.

Dien May Xanh raises about JPY 73 billion: how to read one of Vietnamese retail's largest IPOs

MWG's electronics chain Dien May Xanh has raised about USD 500 million and will list on HOSE in August. We explain, from a practical standpoint, what Japanese retail and consumer goods companies should take from a large IPO in which foreign investors accounted for 90%.

Central invests VND 800 billion in Dak Lak: what it means now for Japanese brands entering provincial malls

Thailand's Central Retail is investing VND 800 billion (about USD 30 million) to add GO! malls in Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands. We read, from a practical standpoint, how Japanese brands targeting the provincial middle class should judge taking space.

Why Nippon Precision is upgrading Vietnam into a place to develop products

Watch band maker Nippon Precision has set up an R&D center at Nissei Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. From this move upgrading a manufacturing site into an R&D site, we set out the practical points mid-sized Japanese companies can learn.

Kamigumi builds its own cold storage warehouse: a tailwind for food exports to Vietnam

Kamigumi is building its own refrigerated and frozen warehouse in Phu My 3 near Ho Chi Minh City and has also taken a 50% stake in CLK, the existing operating company. We read the opening for Japanese food and pharmaceutical companies to secure temperature-controlled logistics in Vietnam.

Lion builds a JPY 1.5 billion tablet plant: why a winner in liquids is stepping into solid dosage forms

Lion is building a new pharmaceutical plant costing about JPY 1.5 billion in Hung Yen Province, moving from nasal rinse and eye drop liquids into tablets and granules. We read the move of a Japanese maker cultivating local demand rather than building an export base.

Yabashi's GCC plant starts up: how local sourcing changes for Japanese processors

Yabashi Group's Vina Powder has completed a ground calcium carbonate plant in Nghe An Province. We read how local production of a base material for resins, paints, and paper affects the sourcing strategy of Japanese processors operating in Vietnam.

Samsung takes Bac Ninh local sourcing digital: how Japanese parts makers should move

Samsung and Bac Ninh Province have renewed their memorandum of cooperation for 2026 to 2030. Turning local suppliers into smart factories raises the sourcing bar for the northern electronics cluster. We set out the move Japanese parts makers should make.

US-based Coherent adds 30,000 square meters in Dong Nai: an optical components supply network opening in the south

Nvidia-backed Coherent has leased an additional 30,000 square meters of plant space in Dong Nai Province and will next invest in semiconductors and AI in Ho Chi Minh City. We read, from a practical standpoint, the room Japanese optics and precision parts makers have to join the supply network.

UOB's USD 450 million own building at VIFC: what the first permanent base by a foreign bank means

Singapore's UOB has broken ground on a 36-story, USD 450 million headquarters building at VIFC in Ho Chi Minh City. We read the practical implications for the site strategy of Japanese financial firms and trading houses of the first permanent base by a foreign bank.

Shopee counterattacks on Instagram: how Japanese brands should move in cross-border e-commerce

Shopee has teamed up with Meta to start Instagram affiliate marketing in Vietnam. We explain its countermeasure against TikTok Shop's pursuit and the concrete steps Japanese brands selling through cross-border e-commerce should take.

Aeon puts about JPY 170 billion into Vietnam: why suppliers should move now

Aeon Mall has raised the charter capital of its Vietnamese subsidiary to VND 27.9 trillion (about USD 1,160 million). We explain, from a practical standpoint, the window in which Japanese food and housewares makers should open talks, and how to go about it.

Aluminum boats 40% cheaper through local assembly: the Dutch boatbuilder's Vietnam joint venture as a model

The Netherlands' Alumax has opened its first overseas shipyard in Bac Ninh Province. Its joint venture with Song Ha James Boat already holds USD 20 million in orders. The model of exporting component kits and assembling locally also applies to how mid-sized Japanese manufacturers design their entry.

Vingroup breaks ground on a 14 km sea crossing: the premises for siting in the south are changing

Vingroup has broken ground on a USD 354 million (VND 93 trillion) sea crossing road from Can Gio to Vung Tau. We read the practical impact of the 14 km route with an undersea tunnel on logistics and siting strategy in the south, from the viewpoint of Japanese companies already operating there.

The day Starbucks brews tea in Vietnam: learning from the coffee leader's localization

Starbucks has entered milk tea in Vietnam. We verify the market size at USD 360 million a year and consider the balance between localization and brand design that Japanese F&B companies should learn.