Focus: Recycled Plastics Gain Ground: Vietnam’s plastics industry is facing a growing battle between virgin and recycled plastics. Recycled resin currently accounts for around 10% to 15% of plastic materials used in domestic manufacturing, higher than the global average of under 10%.
Inside Vietnam
FinTech After Cheap-Capital Era: A subtle but notable shift is underway in Vietnam’s financial technology (FinTech) scene. The hundreds-of-millions-of-U.S.-dollars funding rounds that were common a few years ago now seem rare. Startups no longer talk as much about “burning cash to gain market share” or “dominating the ecosystem” as they once did. Instead, more and more companies are focusing on cashflow, operational efficiency, and pathways to profitability.
Logistics Bottleneck Remains Unresolved: Vietnam’s logistics costs have remained high despite years of expanding transport infrastructure. The biggest bottleneck is not a lack of roads or ports — it is that the transport system still operates in fragments, with poor connectivity and an overdependence on roads.
Not Just Supply: Social housing is not just a story of how many apartment units get built — it also demands a sustainable operational platform, one that Vietnam should develop systematically, and soon.
Business
Creating Legal Foundation For Megacity: “To enable Ho Chi Minh City to overcome its challenges and achieve double-digit growth, it must be granted powers commensurate with its responsibilities. In my view, the Special Urban Law should institutionalize this principle.” Speaking at a consultation workshop gathering experts, scientists, and leading intellectuals to discuss the draft Special Urban Law, Dr. Sc. Arch. Ngo Viet Nam Son proposed a number of ideas concerning unprecedented urban models, governance mechanisms, and institutional arrangements. These proposals aim to contribute to the development of a polycentric, multi-nodal Ho Chi Minh City mega-city capable of sustaining high and resilient growth over the coming decades. The Saigon Times spoke with him to gain deeper insights into his recommendations.
The Capital Crunch: Quite a few banks saw their loan-to-deposit ratios (LDR) approach 100% in late Q4 2025, according to SSI Research. Liquidity had grown increasingly dependent on State Treasury deposits, the OMO channel, and foreign capital rather than core deposit growth — setting the stage for fi erce competition in Q1 2026.
Living
When Heritage Lives In The Present: More than 400 years ago, merchant vessels bearing Japan’s red-seal permits rode the monsoon winds into the bustling port of Hoi An, opening a remarkable chapter of cultural exchange between Vietnam and Japan.
Sea, Shells And Pearls: Pearl farming has become one of the experiences most closely associated with Phu Quoc Island, where visitors can explore workshops, oyster farms and jewelry galleries alongside beaches and fishing villages. Among the island’s best-known names is Ngoc Hien Pearl in the Duong Dong tourism area, a company established in 1994 specializing in the cultivation and processing of seawater pearls.
Travel
Ta Con At Dusk: Where Khe Sanh Remembers: There was a time when this outpost was called an “impregnable fortress” on the northern edge of South Vietnam’s battlefi eld. Yet even fortresses fall. Today, decades after the guns fell silent, Ta Con Airport has become an open- air museum – a place where history rests quietly beneath the green folds of the Truong Son mountains.
Khe Sanh Coffee: A Taste Of The Highlands: Born from colonial-era plantations, Khe Sanh coff ee has evolved into one of Quang Tri’s signature specialties, prized for its distinctive character and its transition toward sustainable, organic cultivation.
