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Harambe: Vietnam EV maker VinFast gets SPAC shareholders’ nod to list in US | Reuters (8/10/23)
HANOI, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Shareholders of Black Spade Acquisition (BSAQ.A), a Hong Kong-based blank-cheque company, on Thursday approved a merger with Vietnam’s electric automaker VinFast, allowing the carmaker to list in the United States this year.
The vote gives VinFast, which began operations in 2019 and started to deliver cars in California this year, the final go ahead to complete its two-year journey seeking to go public in the U.S, where it hopes to compete with legacy automakers and startups.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective VinFast’s filing to merge with Black Spade, which last month held another extraordinary shareholder meeting to vote on its one-year lifespan extension.
Founded by Black Spade Capital, the private investment arm of Lawrence Ho, the head of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which operates casinos in Macau and the Philippines, BSAQ’s initial intention was to merge with an entertainment company.
Harambe: Vietnam’s economy to see stronger growth in next two years: World Bank | Vietnam+ (8/10/23)
The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam’s economy will grow 4.7% in 2023, and accelerate to 5.5% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2025.
The bank made the prediction in its latest economic update entitled “Making Public Investment Work for Growth” released on August 10.
The report said Vietnam’s economic growthslowed from 8% in 2022 to 3.7% in the first half of 2023, noting that a challenging external environment and weaker domestic demand is leading to a slowdown in economic growth in Vietnam. But the economy will pick up pace over the second half of this year, and the following years, it said.
Overall, investment will contribute 1.8 percentage points to the country’s GDP growth. Private investment is expected to decline slightly with an increase of 4.3% compared to the same period last year due to external uncertainties, and will contribute 1.2 percentage points for GDP growth. Public investment is expected to be boosted, up 9.5% over the same period in 2022, contributing 0.6 percentage points to growth. However, it can only partially offset the declining private investment situation.
Due to loosened liquidity and the State Bank of Vietnam’s issuance of the guidance on restructuring repayment terms, financial constraints for the real estate and construction sectors are expected to be solved, which thus support private investment to gradually recover from 2024 onwards.
The CPI is expected to increase slightly from an average of 3.1% in 2022 to an average of 3.5% in 2023. The deflationary impact of slowing growth and the policy of reducing value-added tax rates from 10% to 8% deployed in the second half of 2023 is enough to offset the 20.8% increase in civil servants salaries. CPI inflation will be stabilised at 3% in 2024 and 2025 on the basis of the expectation that energy and commodity prices will be stable in 2024.
Carolyn Turk, WB Country Director for Vietnam said that Vietnam’s economy is being tested by internal and external factors, suggesting that to boost economic growth, the government can support aggregate demand through effective public investments, thereby creating jobs, and stimulating economic activity.
“Beyond short-term support measures, the government should not lose sight of structural institutional reforms – including in the energy and banking sectors – as they are imperative for long-term growth,” she said.
The report suggests policy options to get the economy back on track. Effectively implementing the 2023 investment budget can stimulate aggregate demand and economic growth. On exports, the report suggests diversifying product offerings and export destinations to build medium-term resilience against external shocks. At the same time, fiscal policy can play a stronger role in incentivizing green practices and consumption, ultimately contributing to environmental sustainability.
A proactive fiscal policy supporting short-term demand, removing barriers to the implementation of public investment, and addressing infrastructure constraints can help the economy achieve these targets and promote long-term growth, the bank suggested.
The report’s special chapter studies Vietnam’s public investment management and how it can contribute to the goal of climbing the income ladder. To harness the power of public investment, the report recommends that Vietnam sustain its level of investment, improve the quality of the proposed project, and address deficiencies in public investment management and inter-governmental fiscal institutions.
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-economy-to-see-stronger-growth-in-next-two-years-wb/266017.vnp
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