Good morning! Hello to all new readers, and welcome to the latest free edition of the Vietnam Weekly, written by Mike Tatarski - apologies for arriving in your inbox a day late.
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As I was writing this on Thursday, seven military helicopters flew past my window - looks like the April 30th practice has reached the city. Several fighter jets followed, but they were too fast to film - you can hear them arriving at the end of the second video.
Shortly afterwards, I saw Su-30s doing acrobatics over the Sala area (again, hard to film) - it was an impressive sight! And very loud. Local media got plenty of photos. They returned for more yesterday.
The Infrastructure Push
Workers are racing to complete the new third terminal at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, with trial operations set to begin on April 24.
According to Tuổi Trẻ News, Vietnam Airlines and VietJet will move all of their domestic flights to T3 by May 5, with the remaining domestic carriers continuing to use the aging T1. This would reduce the number of flights at the old terminal by about 80%.
According to VnExpress, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính visited the immense Long Thành International Airport construction site in Đồng Nai Province again last week and demanded that the airport be ready to handle its first flight by December 31.
On the southern side of HCMC, VnExpress reported that Vingroup submitted its plan to build a 48.5-kilometer-long elevated metro line from District 7 to Cần Giờ for US$4 billion.
Finally, land clearance for the city’s second metro line is complete, with groundbreaking on the long-delayed project expected later this year. It will span 11 km - mostly underground - through very densely populated areas of Districts 1 and 3, plus Tân Bình District.
Tariffs Incoming
We’ve almost reached April 2, which U.S. President Donald Trump has called “liberation day,” when his administration is expected to introduce wide-ranging reciprocal tariffs on all (or most) trading partners.
Trump’s tariff policy has seen several false starts and reversals in recent weeks, and the reciprocal tariff plan remains unclear, but Vietnam is certainly worried: exports to the U.S. account for 30% of national GDP.
In addition to previous steps aimed at reducing tariff pressure, Reuters reports that the Ministry of Finance will reduce tariffs on U.S. imports, including LNG, cars, and ethanol.
Earlier this week, the government approved a pilot program for Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The pilot will run for five years with a maximum of 600,000 subscribers and no limits on foreign ownership.
Extra Links:
Vietnam's hottest FDI destination gains pop culture cred (Nikkei Asia)
In a Hẻm in D8, a Scrumptious Halal Feast Comes Alive Every Ramadan (Saigoneer)
Made in Vietnam or a backdoor for Chinese exports? (The Interpreter)
Climate change and overfishing threaten Vietnam’s ancient tradition of making fish sauce (AP)
Have a great weekend!
Mike Tatarski
