Ho Chi Minh City’s transit-oriented development: More value around transit, but who gets the gains?

Ho Chi Minh City’s transit-oriented development: More value around transit, but who gets the gains?

In-Depth

As Ho Chi Minh City expands transit-oriented development (TOD), higher densities and better accessibility could unlock significant land value around transit hubs. The harder question is how to share that value so that affordable housing and public benefits can grow alongside investor returns.

What do soaring global bond yields mean for Vietnam?

What do soaring global bond yields mean for Vietnam?

In-Depth

Government bond yields around the world have just reached multi-decade highs. Behind the surge is a more important message: the era of cheap capital may truly be coming to an end.

Vietnam’s next FDI challenge: Making capital generate more capital

Vietnam’s next FDI challenge: Making capital generate more capital

In-Depth

As Vietnam seeks more productive and higher-quality foreign investment, the challenge is no longer simply how much new foreign direct investment (FDI) the country can attract, but how many more dollars of investment an FDI dollar in Vietnam can generate.

BRICS gives Vietnam more tables to engage, negotiate, build economic options: Indian economist

BRICS gives Vietnam more tables to engage, negotiate, build economic options: Indian economist

In-Depth

Vietnam’s participation in BRICS should be judged not by symbolism or the number of meetings it attends, but by whether it creates more options in markets, investment, technology, and supply chains, according to Indian economist Majo George.

Vietnamese football’s enfant terrible: How violence is eclipsing Doan Van Hau’s talent

Vietnamese football’s enfant terrible: How violence is eclipsing Doan Van Hau’s talent

In-Depth

Once heralded as the generational prodigy of Vietnamese football, Doan Van Hau, born in 1999, now finds himself cast as the ultimate black sheep -- a player whose soaring potential has been increasingly eclipsed by reckless aggression.

A Belgian professor and 20 years of pediatric liver transplants in Vietnam

A Belgian professor and 20 years of pediatric liver transplants in Vietnam

In-Depth

For more than 20 years, Belgian liver transplant expert Professor Raymond Reding has made countless trips to Children’s Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, helping build pediatric liver transplantation into a sustainable capability at the hospital.

Storing Mekong floodwater for an El Nino-hit dry season in 2027

Storing Mekong floodwater for an El Nino-hit dry season in 2027

In-Depth

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that the 2026-27 El Nino is strengthening and almost certain to last through February 2027, potentially becoming the strongest in 40 years. But even a strong El Nino does not necessarily mean severe drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s coffee 'phin' filter: The beauty of imperfections

Vietnam’s coffee 'phin' filter: The beauty of imperfections

In-Depth

By modern technical standards, Vietnam’s traditional coffee filter may seem imperfect. Yet that simplicity produces a rich, distinctive brew that has become deeply intertwined with Robusta beans and Vietnam’s coffee culture.

In Vietnam, can businesses refuse cash payments from customers?

In Vietnam, can businesses refuse cash payments from customers?

In-Depth

A cashless payment policy adopted by a Starbucks store in Vietnam has sparked debate, with some customers arguing that refusing cash, a legal means of payment, causes inconvenience and raises questions over whether businesses have the right to choose their payment methods.

From check-in to check-deep: A photo is no longer enough for a journey

From check-in to check-deep: A photo is no longer enough for a journey

In-Depth

A striking photo may capture a place, but increasingly, it does not define the journey.